F-R-O-G-U-E-S
by BustyWritesStuff
Summary: After their most recent job went horribly wrong, Captain Cold had the bright idea to suggest that The Rogues all lay low at his place for the foreseeable future. Well, it had seemed like a good idea at the time... Can Captain Cold somehow manage to survive living with Heat Wave, Golden Glider, Weather Wizard and The Trickster? Better yet, Can they survive living with him?
1. The One Where They Move In Together

This is it. No turning back now. It wasn't one of his brightest ideas, but what was he meant to do? He couldn't just turn them away could he? Well in all honesty he could have, but it really had seemed like an alright idea at the time. It's surely not too late to rescind his over-eager invitation, is it? He could just turn around and tell the 4 of them 'Nope, not happening' and send them all on their merry way, but what kind of man would he be if he did that?

If he were to be honest, he could have already told them it was off a handful of times today. He could have done it during the obscenely long car ride over here, he could have done it while they all stood in silence in the damn lobby waiting for the elevator, and shit, he even could have done it during the seemingly never-ending elevator ride up to the very top floor of the apartment complex, but standing here now facing the pale blue door before him with a stoic expression on his face but a feeling of sheer dread hanging heavy in his stomach, Cold exhaled silently and realized that it was indeed far too late to turn back now.

Reaching into the left-hand pocket of his parka Jacket and withdrawing a small silver key, Cold continued to mentally berate himself as he forced his hand forward towards the lock, quickly pushing the key into the slot and unlocking the door. As the door clinked, Cold took in one sharp inhale through the nose and quickly exhaled with a defeated sounding puff, pushing the door open and turning to look at his companions with a not so well hidden look of anxiety visible on his features. Well Leonard, you've made your bed and now you've gotta lie in it.

"__Alright everyone, c'mon in and make yourselves at home.__" Cold said as he stepped into his apartment, carefully slipping out of his puffy blue jacket and hanging it delicately on the hooks just to the right of the still open door.  
"__Shoes go on the rack, jackets on the hooks and all weapons are left in the cabinet or else they'll be confiscated. Understood?__" he said as he slipped his black boots off and lay them on the rack, immediately turning his attention towards the door and the hulking figure lumbering through it.

Mick stepped into the apartment and grumbled aloud as he kicked his boots off in Cold's general direction,one boot landing just before Cold and the other smacking into the bottom of his's leg. Cold winced and threw Mick the dirtiest look he could muster.  
"__Mick, don't start...__" he said plainly, although the venomous look on his face betrayed his usually unreadable demeanor. Mick barked out a laugh and flipped him off as he walked straight into the living room area of the open plan apartment and threw himself onto the couch with a heavy thud. It's official, Cold was already beginning to really really regret this.

Almost as if she could sense the already brewing tension, Lisa slunk into the apartment with her sleek black heels already in hand and a wiry smirk on her face.  
"__Ahh c'mon Lenny, chill out...__" she cooed as she placed her shoes delicately on the rack and shrugged out of her black leather coat, placing it on the hook directly next to Cold's infamous parka. She flashed her brother a reassuring smile as she continued on into the apartment and right up to Mick, who without a moments hesitation sat up in his seat and cleared it for her. Lisa nodded in Mick's general direction as she sat herself down and made herself comfortable on the couch. She paused briefly and began looking around the apartment without saying a word, nodding to herself as she began to reacquaint herself with the place. It'd been years since she'd last set foot in Lenny's place, but it all looked the same, like nothing had changed. Letting out a content sounding sigh, Lisa sunk into the deep comfortable couch and turned her attention towards the door, she chuckled aloud as she waved her hand towards herself, seemingly trying to beckon the other two into the apartment.  
"__Mark, Axel! C'mon in. Lenny won't bite, wish i could say the same for Mick though...__". Behind her, Mick choked out a laugh and bared his teeth like an rabid dog as he turned and faced towards the two men standing in the doorway. Mick cursed aloud as Lisa jammed her elbow into his sides with fervor.

Before he could correct her for continuing to call him 'Lenny' in front of the gang, Cold's attention snapped towards the door as Mark hesitantly began to tread into the apartment, his jacket already off and hanging over his arm and his boots in hand. There was a nervous air that seemed to hang around Mark that betrayed the stony look that seemed to be a constant addition to his sharp features, but it was to be expected. As the newest member of their ever-growing 'Rogues' gallery Cold mused that for Mark this must have been like being the new kid on their first day of school, if your class mates were all convicted felons, weirdo's and psychopaths... a bad example, he'd admit. Without a word, Mark stooped down and dropped his shoes onto the rack and hung his jacket haphazardly on one of the hooks. He paused for a moment and locked eyes with Cold as if to say something before rolling his shoulder's and walking off towards the other two who seem to have already made themselves quite at home. Looking towards Mick and Lisa with a nervous smile, Mark carefully sat himself down in the armchair to the left of the main couch, his back rigid and his hands placed firmly on his knees. Lisa looked over towards Mark and smiled at him, leaning forward and saying something to the tall male that Cold never quite picked up on. Mark let out a almost inaudible chuckle and said something back as he visibly begin to unwind in his seat. Lisa reached forward and patted his hand with her own before leaning back into the couch once more.

"__Well at least they're not killing each other...__" Cold muttered aloud as he began to straighten Marks jacket up on the hook, although he may have spoken too soon. Springing into the apartment with what Cold was sure the young male thought was contagious enthusiasm, Axel shed his jacket and shoe's as he sauntered towards the living area with a shit-eating grin plastered across his face and his trademark swagger in full swing, despite the fact his right arm was wrapped tightly in a fresh white cast. Axel began giggling wildly as he threw himself into the space between Lisa and Mick on the now busy looking couch, immediately beginning to start chatting away with anyone who would bother to pay him the attention he was clearly looking for. Mark, looking unsure what to make of the eccentric male, smiled awkwardly at the kid and began drumming his fingers against his knees. Lisa - unfazed as ever - began chatting back to Axel with a somewhat amused grin on her face. Mick simply turned away, having none of it apparently.

Cold rolled his eyes as he scooped up Axel's belongings and placed them neatly in their spots while muttering away angrily to himself. It hadn't been 5 minutes and already he was gearing himself up for wringing Axel's neck, who the hell invited him into their little gang anyway? Cold guessed that he had kind of earned his keep after what happened with Grodd a few days ago - the cast on the young males right arm was testament to that - but c'mon now, even he had his limits and Axel was proving to be one of them.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Cold shook his head and prepared for the inevitable as he began towards the living area.  
"__Alright Ladies and Gentlemen here's the deal. This is my hide-out and my rules, anyone has any complains or suggestion's then you know where the door is. We clear?"__ The room seems to erupt with a series of non-committal grunts and mumbling, the best he could hope for given the circumstances.  
"__Besides that the rest is simple. There are 2 free rooms down the stairs and one up the stairs. You can decided among yourselves what room you're taking but i trust you'll all try and be adults about it, right Mick?__" Cold said as he turned towards the burly figure with a deadpan look. Mick turned his head over his shoulder and rolled his eyes at Cold, but nodded in response. A small smirk cracked on Cold's face.  
"__Excellent. Glad we're all agreed. There's two Bathrooms, one is the last door on the right down the corridor and the other is the first door at the top of the landing up the stairs. My room is directly next to the bathroom upstairs and the other free room is the one directly next to my room, or third door down the landing to be precise. The Kitchen is directly behind me and i think that's about it. Any questions?"__ Cold said as he looked at the small crowd before him, all of whom simply shrugged or nodded in response.  
"__Good, now go get settled then, since it seems you're going to be intruding on my private life for the foreseeable future.__" and with that the three men all got up from their seats and set off into the apartment to make themselves at home. Mark took the last room on the left downstairs and Axel the first right next to the bathroom. Mick took it upon himself to take the free room up the stairs next to Cold's, a move Cold was sure both he and Mick were going to regret.

As the rumbling stopped when everyone seemed to be beginning to settle in to what was now THEIR apartment, Cold shuffled around the couch and threw himself down onto it, his butt slowly beginning to slide of the edge of the seat as he completely melted into the couches shape and began to finally unwind. Next to him, his sister looked over at him with a concerned look on her face, she reached forward and placed her hand on his shoulder.  
"__Y'know, you didn't need to take them all in Lenny__" she started "__What happened with Grodd wasn't your fault. The fact we even made it out of that in one piece was a miracle, god knows what happened to The Flash...__"  
"__I didn't have to take you in either remember, but here we are__." he said with a smirk as he turned to look at his sister.  
"__Oh you did. Blood's thicker than water 'n all that fuzzy wuzzy B-S. But seriously though, you can act Frosty and disagreeable as long as you care to 'Elsa'..."__ she laughed and nudged his side with her foot, successfully managing to elicit a laugh from her brother. "__But you actually did a good thing today. Must feel odd right?__"  
"__Y'know it does actually__." Cold replied "__Ever since i decided to take you lot in i've been taken over by an uncontrollable urge to adopt strays and donate all my time to a damn soup kitchen."__  
"__Don't be a dick Lenny! You know what i mean__" Lisa said with a laugh as she rose to her feet and began heading straight towards the corridor that lead to their rooms. "__On that note, i'm gonna head and see if my room is still in one piece. Y'never moved anything around or that, did you?__" She said as she leaned against the wooden frame of the door, her eyes locked with her brother's.  
"__Now why would i do that? Everything in there is 'Pretty and Toxic', like you remember?__" he raised his pitch and slurred his words at the end of his sentence. Lisa feigned a shocked face and shook her head as she walked into her room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

The watch on his wrist read 23:04 and it was safe to say that Cold had never been so happy in his life to see the end of a day. Stepping into his bedroom and locking the door behind him, Cold leaned against the harsh wooden surface and exhaled deeply, feeling like he was mere seconds away from collapsing from exhaustion. It truly had been one of those days and he feared that tomorrow wouldn't be any easier knowing he was stuck with those four. Kicking off his trousers, socks and peeling off his shirt as he trudged closer and closer to his bed, the male let out a deep and content sigh as he finally collapsed onto his soft mattress, his head hitting the pillow with a muffled thud as his eyes slowly beginning to slip shut.

Maybe this new arrangement wouldn't be so bad? I mean, the rest of the night had been okay. They'd successfully managed to order a some pizza without killing each other (although when Axel refused to stop shouting Ham and Pineapple at him as he phoned the order he'll admit he came close to it) and he hated to admit that the TV session following dinner had actually been kind of enjoyable, even more so when Mark had finally began to come out of his shell, Axel had settled down and dropped the whole 'Trickster' nonsense and Mick had stopped demanding that they watch some movie called 'Backdraft', which Cold had made a mental note of to google later on to see what it was actually about. Overall a not bad night Cold thought to himself. Not so bad at all...

And that was when it happened. With a series of cracks and fizzles the sprinkler system to the apartment turned on and began filling the Penthouse suite with it's awful blaring siren and dousing the place with ice cold water. Jolting up like a bat out of hell Cold sprinted towards the door, unlocked it and threw himself out into the Hallway, seemingly forgetting that he was dressed in nothing but a pair of jet black boxer shorts. As he lurched into the hall, Cold looked down over the landing and into the kitchen and saw none other than Mick sitting at the table seemingly just having finished using his infamous Heat-Gun on it's lowest setting to make Toast. Mick look up to the landing and made a faux-shocked face, dropping his gun onto the counter with a splash and shrugging dismissively as he bit into the piece of jet black, smoking bread without a seconds hesitation. Below him, Cold could hear three other hurried sets of feet splashing along the water soaked laminate flooring of the corridor and towards the kitchen.  
"__What__?" Mick said, spitting black crumbs all over the soaked counter top and looking to Cold, then towards the 3 standing at the bottom of the stairs with a look of sheer indifference visible in his beady eyes. "__Ain't my fault this shit-hole apartment doesn't have a fuckin' toaster...__"


	2. The One Where They Go To The Mall

Lisa threw her hands up into the air and spun around in circles as she continued down the seemingly never-ending sidewalk that stretched out before her very eyes. The sun was shining down hot on the busy city streets of Central City, she had the biggest bag she could carry literally filled to the brim with hundreds of dollars and more importantly, she was finally out of that godforsaken Apartment. Yep, it was official. Today was going to be seriously kick-ass.

After last nights Shenanigans, Lenny had ever so delicately told everyone, bar Mick, to clear out of the Apartment while Mick cleaned the place up after his latest little fuck-up. Lenny of course had decided that he was going to stay behind and oversee said job was done properly, as well as to have some alone time with Mick to explain the house rules all over again since clearly yesterdays lengthy rant had fallen on deaf ears. Deciding that this was one thing she wasn't going to even consider challenging her brother over, Lisa took it upon herself to liberate Lenny of some of the stolen cash he had just lying around his room (well, lying in his safe technically, but she was never one for details) and drag herself to the mall to try and replace some of the stuff Mick had wrecked last night after his little Midnight Snack turned their shared Apartment into WaterWorld. Upon showing Mark and Axel her bill-stuffed bag and informing them of her 'exciting' plans for the day, they were more than happy to join her.

Gracefully slipping out of her flawless spin cycle and back into a casual stroll, Lisa slowed her pace down considerably and found herself slap bang in between her two companions. Putting one arm around each of their shoulders, Lisa pulled Axel in and Mark down into a tight hug and let out an excited squeal as the three continued on down the sidewalk.  
"__Y'know guys, words cannot describe how pleased i am you decided to join me on my little day trip__" Lisa announced with a sneer as she pulled the two others in tighter and giggled. "This'll be good for us i think. Y'know, actually getting out for a bit and away from that godforsaken Apartment. Feel like we've been there forever."  
"__It's no problem Lisa. Never was much of a fan of Water Parks anyway.__" chuckled Mark with a small shrug.  
"__Well, it's only been a day__" Axel sassed. "B__ut i know what you mean. Sitting up until 4am attempting to dry my bed off with a travel-sized Hairdryer wasn't exactly how i planned to spend my first night in our new digs.__"  
Lisa threw her head back and cackled aloud, finally releasing the other two men from her iron grip. "__Oh god Axel, i really hate to think what you were planning on doing before Mick got the munchies...__"  
"__By the look of that cast, i'd guess it had something to do with his hand...__" Mark muttered and placed his hands into his pockets, failing miserably to suppress a deep chortle . Next to him, Lisa was near to collapsing dowm on the pavement with how hard she was laughing. Tears were streaming down her tanned cheeks and her breath was quickly becoming wheezy. She grabbed onto a nearby Lamp-post for support as she continued to cackle like a witch in the middle of the busy street, drawing attention from passers by. Next to them both, Axel's face had quickly begun turning from his usual chalky hue into a deep red colour. The younger male raised his left hand to the back of his head and began rubbing it frantically while shifting uncomfortably on the spot, the red hue on his cheeks spreading across his face and quickly beginning to reach his ears.  
"__Aww C'mon guys. Dick jokes? Really? C'mon...__"

* * *

If they thought the streets of Central City were busy, they were in for a shock when they finally reached the mall. The air felt heavy and humid as the entire place seemed to roar with activity. Surrounded by what seemed like millions of people, the faceless hordes that had somehow managed to engulf them continued to push and shove among themselves, walking aimlessly from store to store with no signs of stopping. Honestly it was like a scene from a low-budget Zombie Movie or something and given the opportunity Lisa was sure she'd have just spun around and left this hellhole before she did something to the mindless drones that they'd all be sure to regret, but regardless of all that they were here today for a reason and not even the brain-dead dolts who inhabited this city would keep her from her plans. After all, what were the Central City Rogues if not persistent?

The first and only stop of the day was 'Hawkins Electronics', a store tucked neatly away in the corner of the West Side of the Mall, and more importantly, mostly out of the way of possible interference. Standing just outside the store, Lisa turned towards the two men and nodded her head towards the large double doors that lead into the store while poking around somewhat absentmindedly in her bag.  
"__Okay Gentlemen, we know the drill, right?__" She spoke as she finally stopped fidgeting and withdrew a stick of dark red lipstick from her bag. With a steady hand, Lisa took the cap off of the stick and carefully traced a fine coat of cover onto her pursed lips. "__I'll head in first and keep the staff distracted...__"  
"__While i get on one of those Laptop sitting up the back corner and hack their systems...__" affirmed Axel as he pumped his fists in the air excitedly.  
"__And i'll stay outside and focus on providing a little Turbulence.__" Nodded Mark as he began to retreat backwards, sitting down on a bench directly facing the front of the store. "__Don't worry Lisa, we've got it.__"  
"__Hell yeah we do__!" cheered Axel as he ran over to Mark and held his hand out for a high-five. Mark looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow before finally reaching forward and high-fiving Axel in return. An infectious grin found it was onto the younger male's face as he turned back around and began to jog back to Lisa. Linking arms with one another, Axel leaned in close to Lisa and displayed the hand Mark had just high-fived before them like it was his most prized possession.  
"__Honestly, i'll never wash this hand again.__" Axel said in a hushed tone as Lisa spluttered out a hoarse laugh. The two rogues began to head into the Store, laughter filling the air as they walked. Showtime.

* * *

Inside the store, they quickly got to work. Lisa stopped as they entered and began to take in their surrounds, desperately trying to remember the rules Lenny had told her when they pulled that Casino heist a few months back. Okay, time to focus. There were 5 members of staff on the shop floor. Two on registers, one currently dealing with what looked like a difficult customer and two just chatting next to the Television's. Could be more staff and even some security through the back, so she'd have to find a way to seal that door. Then there were three Camera's, one at each Register and one in the top right hand corner of the room providing a birds-eye view of the entire shop floor. Simple enough. Looking towards Axel and nodding in the affirmative, Axel nodded in response and slipped free from their locked arms without a seconds hesitation, making haste as he began to skulk towards the back of the store. Outside on the benches, Lisa could see Mark staring into the store with an unnerving intensity, his hands tensing and un-tensing with a steady rhythm. Deciding it best not to waste anymore time, Lisa gave her hair a quick fluff, pulled her t shirt down just a little and walked up towards the two staff members standing next to the Televisions.  
"__Hey fellas__" She said with a wave and a wink as she stopped before the two men, one hand on her hip and the other gripping tightly onto her bag. "__Could i get a hand? I just don't have the first clue what i'm looking for...__"

Up the back of the store, Axel quickly got to work. Making a beeline for the Demonstration Laptops, Axel walked up to the one furthest away from the Cash Registers and withdrew his phone and a long grey USB wire from his jacket pocket. Quickly looking over his shoulders to make sure the coast was clear, Axel slipped one end of the USB wire into the Laptop and the other end into his phone. The second the phone was plugged into the Laptop the screen slipped into a grey hazy static and a small sprite that look exactly like Axel in his Trickster guise appeared on the screen. The little sprite seemed to be laughing as the static behind it grew increasingly more wild. Below the Sprite, a small loading bar appeared and quickly began to fill up. Taking a step back from the Laptop, Axel leaned against the small display table behind him and watched his handiwork with a wild grimace, noticing a slight breeze beginning to fill the store. Sinking to the floor with a thump, Axel slid backwards and hid underneath the first display table as the wind inside the store began to quickly pick up, his eyes remaining locked on the laptop above him and the now halfway loaded bar visible on the screen.

Around the store, the staff began to panic as the wind began picking up at an unbelievable rate, leaflets and sheets of paperwork were flying everywhere while the store plunged head first into a blind panic. At the same time, the double doors leading in and out of the Store suddenly slammed shut. Seizing the opportunity, Lisa drew back her first and swung it forward, connecting with one of the Sales Rep's faces and knocking him out in one clean blow. The other assistant reacted instantly and reached forward, grabbing her wrist tightly and drawing his own back for a punch of his own. Lisa smirked and ducked her head down, narrowly managing to avoid the other males swing and shot herself upwards, the bottom of her head crashing into the taller males mouth and her knee smashing into his crotch. The male cursed violently and doubled over, blood pouring from his burst lip as he hit the floor with a thud, laying unconscious next to the other worker. Immediately moving on to phase 2 of her plan, Lisa reached into her bag and withdrew her Gold-Gun. She closed one eye and stuck her tongue out ever so slightly as she took aim at the door leading into the back of the shop. This wasn't going to be an easy shot. Around her the wind continued to pick up speed and both staff and customers alike (well, the ones who were still conscious anyway) continued to panic. The brunette held her finger over the trigger and exhaled slowly. 'Breathe Lisa, Breathe' she thought to herself as she sucked in a shaky breath and held it. Steady... steady... and with that she pulled her finger back and fired. A blinding light filled the store as a stream of shining gold flew across the room and collided with the back doors with a sharp clang, the metallic substance instantly hardening as it swallowed up the door and effectively sealed it shut.

Up the back of the store and through the storm, Lisa managed to spot Axel ripping his phone and cable from the Laptop and giving her a quick thumbs up, taking off like a rocket and sprinting towards the double doors leading out of the shop. Lisa let out an excited cackle as she charged towards the doors, ducking under a flying plastic frame caught in the horrendous wind as she ran. When they approached the doors, they sprung open for a split-second allowing them to slip through before another gust of wind slammed them shut once more, sealing everyone already caught inside the stormy store back inside again. Ahead of them, Mark was jogging towards them with a grin plastered across his face. Lisa cheered as she approached Mark and punched his arm lightly, trying to catch her breath.  
"__Oh my god you two, that was incredible!__" Lisa declared in a proud voice. "__I take it you got it all, right Axel__?"  
"__Yep, sure did. I wiped the security camera's and wet my beak in the store's online banking systems, so expect our account's to be about, oh i dunno, $150,000 dollars richer next time you all check. Aaaaand i may have just ordered a full set of brand spanking new electronic's to be delivered our humble abode tomorrow morning. See, sometimes the Trickster does give out treats!__" he said whimsically as he reached forward and held balled fists out before the other two Rogues, who in turn reached out and first-bumped him in return.  
"__YEAH__!" cheered Axel as the three began running away from the store and towards the nearest exit. As they ran, passers by began to stare. "__DON'T YOU ASSHOLES KNOW?! THE ROGUES OWN CENTRAL CITY!"__

* * *

News of their little heist in the Mall had spread quickly. Every channel seemed to be reporting that the Central City Mall had been evacuated after what could only be described as a freak accident caused by some problems with the power. Figures, after what went down with that damn gorilla a few days ago chances are the C.C.P.D wouldn't want to throw the citizens into another panic, which worked out exceptionally well for the three Rogues currently chowing down in in the small Diner. With the news covering up exactly what went down they could still operate on the down-low without fear of The Flash interfering, just yet anyway. For a time, Lisa also thought that it meant they could return back to the Apartment without Lenny throwing a fit since he seemed especially prone to a good old rant as of late, but when the Brunette checked her phone and noticed the 9 missed calls from her older Brother that idea was quickly thrown into the gutter.  
"__So, what're we going to say to Lenny when we get back then__?" Lisa started, the concern in her voice apparent, as she leaned forward and took another big bite out of the her burger. She swallowed and reached forward, taking a long sip from her glass Coke. "__Figure if were gonna gonna back there with a Bullshit story it might as be one were all fluent in..."__  
"__Honestly? Don't have a clue.__" spoke Mark as he grabbed a single fry and dipped it onto the ketchup on his plate. "__Was always up to Clyde to come up with all that crap...__" he said with a disinterested shrug and a bitterness to his tone as he slipped the fry into his mouth. "__I'll uh... i'll be back, i need a smoke...__" he muttered as without another word he got up out of his seat and walked up and out the diner.  
As they both turned and watched the taller male head outside, Axel placed his elbows on the table and then his chin onto his hands, watching Mark through the windows of the Diner with an odd glint in his eyes.  
"__Damn__" Axel whispered, his voice trailing off completely towards the end.  
"__Poor guy__" Lisa sighed, her eyes continuing to follow Mark as he slowly paced back and forward outside the Diner.  
"__Yeah yeah, real shame. Be real with me here Lis. I can't be the only one who thinks that Mark is a 6 foot 2 gorgeous slice of beef-cake, right__?" spoke the male in a surprisingly casual tone.  
Lisa let out a shocked laugh and turned her body around, slamming her fist into Axel's left arm with as much strength as she could muster. Axel let out a high pitched wine in response and raised his busted arm up to rub the other, scowling at Lisa as he tended to his non-existent wounds.  
"__What the hell Lis? Don't be like that, he totally is__!" Axel exclaimed, Looking at Lisa with the biggest doe eyes he could do given the circumstances. He sighed in relief when she eventually lowered her fist. Works every time. "__But yeah, it's sad. Poor bastard never really got closure did he__?"  
No, he didn't. The Flash had picked Mark up and thrown him in that makeshift prison of his before he could even get a damn look at the damn pig who killed his brother, never mind actually getting the chance to get his well-deserved revenge. Lisa shook her head and cursed under her breath at the thought. It just wasn't fair, although she had an idea on how to make things at least a little better. Jumping up and out of her seat, Lisa reached down and grabbed Axel's arm and started dragging him towards the exit, completely ignoring Axel's shouts of protest as she did. Lenny specifically said they had to lay low, so that kind of meant no murdering the asshole cop who killed Clyde, that would attract way too much attention. Good thing she had something else in mind.

* * *

Joe West heaved a sigh of relief as he took one hand off the steering wheel and rubbed his eyes, a deep yawn escaping his lips as he continued to drive down the quiet streets and towards his home. Ever since Grodd had rampaged through the city days just before he hadn't had much time to do much of anything, never mind sleep, so when the chance to head home a little earlier than usual had presented itself to him he snatched it right up. After all, spending all week surveying wrecked buildings, talking to traumatized witnesses about a massive psychic Gorilla and then spending an entire day packed inside a crowded mall dealing with what witnesses were describing as an 'indoor hurricane', Joe felt he deserved a damn break.

Yawning once more as he turned the final corner towards his house, Joe's eyes suddenly sprang open and the car skidded to a complete halt as he attempted to take in the sight before him. The entire bottom level of his home was covered in a thick pile of chalk white snow, covering all ways in and out of the house. Strange enough, everything above porch level seemed to have managed to escape the snow, bar one or two odd sprinklings here and there. Reaching up to rub his eyes once again, Joe got out the car and left it sitting in the middle of the road as he edged closer and closer to his frost covered yard, trying to make sense of what was going on. Stopping just before he actually set foot on the snow covered garden, Joe noticed a small piece of paper stuck on the outside of the Mail Box by a tiny, razor sharp shard of ice. Leaning in closer and narrowing his eyes as he attempted to take a closer look at the paper, a scowl suddenly overtook Joe's features when it finally came into focus. The note itself was simple. It had nothing on it but a dark red lipstick stain. Throwing his hands into the air and cursing wildly, Joe stormed off around to the back of the house to get a shovel, failing to notice that in the car parked directly behind his now abandoned car, the three wayward Rogues were currently all in hysterics watching the cops reaction.

Revenge really was a dish best served cold.


	3. The One Where They Have A Games Night

An icy bead of sweat silently slipped down Cold's forehead as he gawked blankly at the board laid before him. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all. He didn't have much leeway, he either had to nail this roll or he was as good as done for to put it lightly. Cold sighed deeply and bowed his head towards the floor, staring down at the light brown laminate and watching as another single bead of sweat slipped off his forehead and tumbled down onto the floor. Oh well, no time like the present. Inhaling deeply as he raised his head once more and stared at the board with a burning determination visible in his eyes, Cold raised a balled fist up to his mouth and began to shake it, blowing onto his fist for luck before throwing the tiny white dice down onto the table. The dice bounced and spun for what seemed like an eternity before finally slowing down, one dice landing on a '1' and the other landing on a '2'. He got a 3. A mother-fucking 3.

"__Okay Len, let's see what we have here. You rolled a 3__!" Mick sneered as he reached out across the table and begun to move Cold's piece - the bowler hat - place by place towards it's final destination. "__Water Works, Marvin Gardens aaaaaand aha! 'Go To Jail'. Tough break Len__" the sturdy man chuckled as he scraped the Piece across the board and placed it on the Jail panel. Cold let out a defeated groan, his head slipping forward and thumping against the table with a hollow thwack.  
"__Oh dear god, I give up. I've never said that before in my life but no, i'm done. We're playing something else.__" he muttered with his face still pressed against the hardwood table as the room erupted into explosive laughter around him.  
"__Aww come on Lenny__" Axel spoke as he raised the icy beer bottle to his mouth and took a quick swig. "__Don't be a big baby, or are you getting 'cold feet'?__" Around him, the whole table groaned painfully in unison.  
"__Oh man Axel, that uh, that wasn't your best man.__" Mark said, looking towards Lisa and rolling his eyes as he too took a swig from his drink. Lisa shook her head and reached out across the table, patting Axel's hand with her own.  
"__Gotta agree with Mark hon, that really wasn't your best.__" she said with what she thought was a supporting smile (though in reality it was more of a grimace), withdrawing her hand back across the table and placing it back onto her thigh. Next to her, Mick locked eyes with the younger male and flashed him a toothy grin.  
"__What she means by that short-stuff is that your little pun was fuckin' terrible!__" Mick snarled out, swinging backwards in his chair, the front two legs completely off the ground. "__And for what it's worth, i agree with Len. This game sucks dick.__" he muttered as he glared around the table, daring anyone who he made eye-contact with to even consider disagreeing with him. Mark locked eyes with the pyromaniac and returned the glared, looking put off after Mick's little dig at Axel. Without a seconds hesitation Mark swished his hand forward, summoning forth a strong gust of wind that burst open the windows and tore through the living room, successfully knocking Mick, the Monopoly board and countless half-full bottles of beer onto the floor with a thunderous crash. On the floor Mick let out a long and painful sounding groan, seeing stars as he lay on the cold hard ground. Around him, the room once again erupted with thunderous laughter at the sight of poor Mick laying on the floor, all except for Cold of course, who simply shook his head and sighed, awaiting what he knew was going to come next in 3,2,1...

And just like expected, Mick roared as he sprung up from his spot of shame on the floor and growled viciously at Mark. His eyes wide and wild looking and his infamous Heat-Gun pointed straight towards Mark's head. With a shrill squeak, Axel dropped down and hid under the table while Mark instantly rose to his feet and raised his hands up to his chest, large balls of solid ice quickly beginning to generate between his fingers and the gust around them once again beginning to pick up speed.  
"__Aww, whats the matter? You afraid of little fire Scarecrow__?" Mick spat venomously, his gun still pointing directly at Marks head while his finger hovered dangerously over the trigger.  
"__Try it Mick and we'll see just how much water it takes for you to melt__!" Mark growled back, the large balls of ice generating in his hand now looking like something more akin to glass as they swirled round at an incredible rate. "__Or better yet, we can take this outside and see how much wind it takes to pick up a house..."__ He chuckled as he nodded outside towards the wild storm that was brewing, thunder and the sound of rain could be heard not too far away in the distance. Looking out the window and shaking his head with an annoyed grunt, Cold jumped up to his feet and pointed his Cold-Gun at Mark, his voice clearly slipping from his usual tone into his 'Cold' persona.  
"__Mark, that's enough. Calm down, NOW!__" he barked as the gun in his hand began to make a loud whirling noise. Mark snarled in response and edged his right hand closer toward's Cold, now aiming one of the projectiles at him. Outside, the thunder booming in the distance continued to draw closer and closer while the wind inside the apartment picked up speed. Across the table, Cold's eyes widened as he looked over and saw Lisa, who now seemed to have joined in on their impromptu 'Mexican Standoff', was now pointing her Gold-Gun at him with a psychotic grin on her face.  
"__Okay Lenny, DROP YOUR WEAPON__!" Lisa screamed in an overly deep voice. Cold, looking visibly shaken by this strange new development, turned to look at his sister with an eyebrow raised and mouth slightly agape, his weapon remained pointed at Mark as he spoke.  
"__Lisa, what the hell are you doing?!__" He barked at Lisa, she simply laughed in response.  
__"Aww, don't take it personal Lenny. It was 2-on-1 against Mark, and nobody comes for my Markimoo while i'm around, not even you__!" Lisa announced with a devilish cackle, clearly she wasn't going to be standing down. She was stubborn like that.

Well, so much for just having a damn Game's Night without a hitch. Within 5 minutes things had turned from a simple game of Monopoly into a genuine Mexican standoff. Some might have said this was inevitable, y'know, 5 Super Villains living under the same roof did seem like it was asking for trouble, but what did it really say about them that they couldn't even sit and play a game of Monopoly without things going Pear-Shaped? Cold didn't have much time to dwell on that as his was dragged back into the present by what sounded like Thunder striking the roof of the Apartment. The 4 tangled up in the standoff all slightly lost their bearings as the building shook but within seconds found it again, their weapons quickly finding their line of sight back onto one another. Tension in the kitchen continued to spike, with everyone just waiting for someone to be brave enough to take the first shot. This was beyond intense. Any second now someone was bound to make a move and Cold didn't like to think what might happen to his apartment if things were to get wild. Any second now someone was going to shoot and then it'd all be tits up from there. He didn't have long, he had to think of something! Anything!  
"__YO EVERYONE__!" and just like the oppressive tension that had been suffocating them almost instantly dissipated as they all turned their heads down towards the table and looking towards Axel, his eyes the only thing above the table as he glanced between the 4 warring rogues somewhat sheepishly. Cough to clear his throat, the young male raised his hands above his head and began to rise to his feet. Cold, Mark, Lisa and Mick all looked at the younger male with their eyebrows raised while he lowered his arms down onto his hips, the sheepish expression on his face quickly being swapped for his usual cocky grin. Looking at his fellow Rogues and shrugging, Axel leaned forward and raised one of the spilled bottle's of beer up to eye-level and shook it with a smug chuckle.  
"__Anyone up for a game of 'Spin The Bottle'__?"

* * *

Almost 2 hours later and the Rogues were still sat in their shared living room, surrounded by empty beer bottles and laughing wildly as they watched the spinning bottle in the middle of them them intensely and all prayed it never landed on it finally did show signs of slowing down they all instinctively held their breath and closed their eyes, only opening when the metallic slicing noise ceased and it was clear that the bottle had in fact stopped, this time on Mick. For what seemed like the millionth time tonight the room erupted into a fit of giggles and cheering while Mick hung his head and let out a defeated sigh.  
"__OH MICK! Looks like your up!__" taunted Cold as he finished off another bottle of beer, tossing the now empty bottle over his shoulder, the bottle smashing somewhere in the background as it collided the floor "__So what'll it be Buddy, Truth or Dare__?"  
"__DARE__!" Mick exclaimed at the top of his voice while Cold, who had designated himself the boss of this silly little game, chuckled menacingly.  
"__Okay Mick, i dare you too... uhh... let me think... GOT IT! Do a back-flip off the Kitchen table!__" Cold tittered in an excited tone, his words sounding more and more slurred as the minutes quickly rolled past. Mick shook his head and got to his feet, almost loosing his balance as he finally stood up straight. Making a beeline towards the Kitchen Table, Mick grunted while he struggled to get onto the hardwood surface. Back in the living room, all 4 remaining Rogues stared mouths agape as the man finally made his way onto the table, his back turned away from his roommates and his arms splayed out as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, seemingly trying to mimic the style of a professional diver.  
"__Alright guys, watch and learn.__" Mick slurred as without another seconds hesitation he threw himself into the air and attempted the flip. For a second it looked like he was successful, but acrobatics and alcohol never seem to mix. Successfully managing a single back-flip off the table, Mick clearly misjudged the leap and instead of nailing the landing Mick nailed his head right off the edge of the table before flopping to the floor with a deafening thud. Across the room Cold, Lisa, Mark and Axel all looked among themselves with their eyes wide open their jaws on the floor. Mick hadn't moved or made a sound since landing on the floor.  
"__Holy shit!__" Axel exclaimed while dramatically pointing at the lifeless form across the room "__We just killed Mick!__"  
"__Oh my god! Oh my god! OH MY GOD!__" Lisa screamed, reaching forward and shaking her brother violent while she continued to spiral into hysteria. "__Lenny what're we meant to do? WE JUST KILLED MICK!__". In front of her, Cold raised a finger up to his lips and hushed his sister and then pointed to Mick. Seemingly like clockwork, the hulking mass the Rogues called 'Mick' lying on the floor chocked out a gasp and began snoring loudly. In the living room, the 4 conscious Rogues heaved a sigh of relief before turning their body's round once more, continuing on the game as if nothing had happened. Cold snickered loudly and used his teeth to open yet another bottle of beer, tipping it back and taking a long drink from it while reaching forward and spinning the empty one once again, this time the hellish bottle's tip pointing directly towards Mark when it finally stopped. The tall male cursed aloud and hung his head in shame.  
"__DARE! I TAKE A DAMN DARE ALREADY!__" he exclaimed before Cold could even ask the question. Across from him both Snart siblings snickered and shared a knowing glance between themselves, Lisa nodding at her brother and Cold cackling wildly in response. Turning to face Mark with an unreadable look in his eyes, Cold flashed Mark a toothy grin before revealing the dare.  
"__Okay then Mark, i dare yoooooou...__" next to Cold, Lisa was almost in hysterics. "__To Kiss Axel.__"  
Mark froze and the colour drained from his face for a moment before the his face quickly turned a deep scarlet. Visibly shaken by Cold's dare, Mark shook his head and raised his hand up to object, but before he could Axel took the initiative and jumped up and onto Mark lap, knocking them both to the floor and pulling the weather-controlling giant into a deep and passionate kiss, one which Mark didn't seem to be opposed against if the way he pulled the smaller male into it was anything to go on. Cold and Lisa, eyes wider than when Mick wiped out just moments before, turned and looked to each other and began mouthing obscenities at one another while the two men across the room continued to make out, seemingly oblivious that they weren't the only ones in the room. Cold snorted loudly and opened his mouth to say something before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. Without another sound, the Rogues fearless leader began tipping backwards and fell back onto the floor with a thud, snoring loudly the second his head made contact with the hardwood laminate flooring.

Lisa let out a deep yawn and reached up to rub her eyes. She considered finishing off the beer bottle next to her, but unlike the rest of the room apparently she knew when enough was enough. Yep, It had been one hell of a night. The brunette looked towards her brother and his on-off boyfriend and smirked at the two of them laying on the floor snoozing away and smiled to herself at the sight. She hoped Mick would be fine in the morning after his little spill, but if knowing him through the years had taught her anything it's that Mick was durable. Yawning again, she turned her attention towards Axel and Mark who by this point had stopped their impromptu make-out session, seemingly haven fallen asleep much like the other two men. Axel lay curled up on Mark's chest like a cat while snoring contently and below him lay Mark, one arm draped over the smaller male and another firmly planted on the Tricksters butt, while he too slept silently on the cold ground.  
"_Figures. House full of eligible bachelors and they're all into each other..._" she whispered with a disappointed tone as she rose to her feet and began stumbling towards her bedroom.  
"_I wonder if that Cisco kid is still single..._"


	4. The One Where They Go To The Movies

One Month.

It had been One Month exactly since this whole shit show had started when Cold had opened the doors of his once-secret hideout and let more people into his life than he was truly comfortable with. Cold genuinely couldn't believe it, but then again he couldn't believe a lot of things he'd gotten up to recently.

It didn't seem like something he'd do, but here he was, standing in the middle of his apartment and looking around it with a small smirk gracing his usually emotionless features while he watched his 4 companions all get themselves ready for a night out to celebrate their new living arrangements, or as Lisa had ever so elegantly put it, one whole month without them killing each other. Cold would never admit it, but it was pretty appropriate all things considered. After all, they weren't the most... agreeable bunch at the best of times, so really if surviving one month without any of them murdering each other wasn't something to celebrate, then what was?

Cold however, seemed to be the only one who was actually almost ready on time. No surprises there. Dressed in a tight fitting black t-shirt and dark colored jeans, Cold walked across his apartment and grabbed his parka off the hook and carefully slipped it on before doing the same for his black boots. He was now 100% dressed and ready to hit the town, shame about the rest of them, who judging by the looks of things weren't quite as prepared as he was. On the top landing, he was sure he could make out the broad shape of Mick darting back and forth between his own room and the bathroom dressed in nothing but his underwear while looking oddly stressed out. He wasn't going to ask. Lisa looked the most put together, although the bewildered look on her face while she feverishly dug around her bag told Cold a different story. Much like with Mick, he wasn't even going to ask. To his left, Mark was wandering around shirtless and looking confused, mumbling something about how he was sure he had laid his shirt on the armchair next to him. Across the living room, Axel was sitting staring at Mark with his eyes glazed over like some sad little lovesick puppy and Cold was almost 100% sure he could see the ends of a Dark Blue shirt poking out from underneath his butt on the seat.  
"__Well played Axel__" Cold whispered to himself as he too looked towards the shirtless male with an appreciative nod. "__Well played indeed__."

Shaking away any lingering feelings of, well, whatever the hell that was, Cold raised his right wrist up closer to his face and looked at the time on his watch. 8:17pm. They only had 43 minutes to get out of here and make it to the movies. Anyone who knew Cold knew he was a stickler for specificity and being late - even to a movie - simply was not an option. Turning his attention away from the watch and back to his roommates, Cold straightened his back and placed a hand on the door handle for dramatic effect.

"__C'mon people, we only have 42 minutes until the movie starts and I for one refuse to be late__" Cold announced while tapping his foot impatiently. "__I mean really, how long does it take to get ready__?" In the living room, his words seemed to be going unnoticed if the incredibly slow pace at which they were all getting ready was anything to go on.  
"__Do you really want an answer to that?__" Lisa said with a undeniable sharpness to her tone as she walked up to the coat hooks and removed her black leather coat, slipping into it with grace while she walked on by Cold and playfully jammed her elbow into his side. Cold winced aloud and jumped back out the way of his sisters reach while Lisa turned her body around and looked back into the apartment with a less than amused look on her face. Sighing aloud, Lisa reached into her handbag and withdrew her infamous Gold-Gun, aiming upwards and firing a warning shot up onto the roof of the apartment with a heart-stopping clang as the gold bonded with the painted white ceiling. All three men came to a complete and sudden halt and looked towards the door with their eyes wide and shoulders tensed, anxiously waiting for the Brutnette's next move.  
"__Right, here's the deal. If you assholes aren't ready and waiting by the elevator in the next 10 seconds then i'm gonna need to come in there any 'help' you. And you better believe NO ONE is gonna be happy if i need to do that__!" she barked at the 3 dumbstruck men who all instinctively glanced at one another then back to Lisa. "__Any questions__?" she spoke in a sickening sweet tone as she aimed her gun in the general direction of the three men, her finger hovering dangerously over the trigger.

Without another sound the 3 men began to tear around the apartment wildly and finally began to finish getting themselves ready. Behind the gun-wielding brunette, Cold stood with an eyebrow raised and an impressed look on his face. When Lisa had first asked to join his gang, Cold would be the first to admit that he had his doubts. For a start she had no absolutely experience whatsoever, she hadn't even had a damn Saturday job for Christ sake never mind experience in robbing banks and the like. Second of all, she was prone to not listening to him, which given the strict nature of their vocation was a big no-no. Truthfully that was all bullshit as deep down Cold knew the real reason he'd rejected her requests to join his gang was more to do with a fear for his sister's safety than her apparent lack of experience but that was something he'd be sure to take to his grave, after all, he wasn't called 'Captain Cold' for nothing.

For the second time this evening Cold pushed down all feelings of emotion and placed a hand on his sister shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze as he looked at her with a proud looking smile.  
"__I've got to admit sis, i'm impressed__." He announced with a chuckle. Lisa looked back over her shoulder and flashed her Older Brother and genuinely pleased looking smirk. Removing his hand from his sisters shoulder, Cold gestured into the now chaotic living room and more importantly, the 3 men who within seconds had somehow managed to get themselves ready and were quickly making their way towards the door. "__Never knew you had it in you! Y'know, you're quite scary when you need to be__."  
"__Well Lenny, i did learn from the best.__" Seeing the approaching Stampede, Lisa grabbed her brother by the shoulders and pulled him out of the apartment, narrowly avoiding the other 3 men as they charged out of the open door and into the hallway. Laughing to herself as she looked from the three out of breath men and towards her brother, Lisa grabbed the door handle and slammed the door to their apartment shut with a deafening thud.  
"__That you did sis, That you did!__" Cold laughed proudly as he locked the door to the apartment, thrusting his hands back into the pockets of his famous blue parka and starting towards the gaggle of miscreants before him, unsuccessfully trying to hide the happy smirk on his face. He hated to admit it, but he could get used to this.

* * *

This was unbearable. Truly unbearable. The damn film hadn't even been on for 30 minutes and already Cold felt like he was going insane. In front of him on the gigantic screen was some sort of C.G.I Kids film about a talking Squirrel and what he thinks was meant to be a turtle of some sort, although the way it was standing made it look more like some kind of demonic scaly dog with a severe hunch. Cold mashed his palm into his forehead and cursed under his breath, this was the last time he trusted Axel to do anything. He couldn't even pick a decent movie to watch for Christ sake. Deciding that enough was enough, Cold got up out of his seat and pushed his way out of the row and into the isle, quickly making his way out of the pitch-black movie Theater and into the Lobby. In their seats, Mick and Lisa high-fived each other and tried their best to suppress their laughter. Next to them, Mark and Axel seemed to be way too deep in conversation to even bother noticing their self-proclaimed leader had left the movie.

"__Looks like i owe you $20 Mick, i didn't even think Lenny'd make it past the opening credits before he walked out__." Lisa whispered to Mick, failing spectacularly at actually holding back her laughter. Next to her, Mick cackled aloud and shoved a fist full of popcorn into his mouth.  
"__Told ya didn't I? Len's a real pussy when it comes to all this fluffy shit. I practically know Len better than he knows himself.__" Mick replied with a sneer as he shoved yet another mouthful of popcorn into his mouth.  
"__Well i'd certainly hope you do. After all, you've been 'Off Again On Again' dating him for like 15 years now or something.__" she whispered, still trying her best not to bother the other people in the theater.  
"__Closer to 17 years actually, but yeah, suppose you're right__." Mick said with a shrug.  
"__'Suppose you're right'? Is that all that statement warrants? C'mon Mick, don't be like that.__" Lisa said, unaware she was speaking louder with every word.  
"__Then what exactly does it warrant Lisa?__" He replied, the indifferent in his tone was almost palpable.  
"__You're really asking your boyfriends little sister that? Mick, you're a complete fucking dolt sometimes...__" Lisa said with a huff.  
__"Sometimes?"__ Axel said much louder than he intended to, much to Marks amusement. Mick stood up in his chair and growled over at the two cackling rogues, his fists balled tight and body language radiating an unmistakable aggression.  
"__Oh, you think that's funny? How funny are you gonna find it when I grab your stupid fuckin' mousy face and smash it into the seats in front on ya until you look like you've stared into the Arc of the Covenant!__"Mick spat while he lurched forward towards Axel, stopping dead in his tracks when both Lisa and Mark jumped up out of their seats and to The Tricksters defense.  
"__Mick, back off!__" Lisa said, her hand placed firmly on Mick's chest.  
"__Lisa's right. Enough already Mick. Sit DOWN__!" Mark said menacingly.  
"__WILL YOU THREE JUST SIT DOWN ALREADY! I CAN'T EVEN THINK STRAIGHT NEVER END MIND PAY ATTENTION TO THE DAMN MOVIE__!" screeched one of the movie-goers.  
"__HONESTLY WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! MY KIDS ARE TRYING TO WATCH THE FUCKING MOVIE__!" Chimed in another.  
"__YEAH! IT WAS BAD ENOUGH WHEN THAT STUPID CUNT IN THE LEATHER WOULDN'T STOP YAKING TO WRECK-IT-RALPH ON THE END, BUT NOW YOU'RE ALL INVOLVED? SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY__!" screamed a male voice with venom dripping off the icy tone.

Both Mark and Mick turned and looked towards Lisa with a fearful look in their eyes. The last time someone had called Lisa the C-word it hadn't ended well, in fact last they'd heard the man was still in a coma and it didn't look like he was waking up any time soon. And they were right to be worried if the look on Lisa's face was anything to go on. Staring at the faceless voice before her as her own face quickly began turning into a deep shade of purple, Lisa opened her mouth to say something before she was ever so rudely interrupted by none other than Axel leaping over several sets of seats and hooking the the man who dared to call Lisa that absolutely despicable name right across the face with a bone-shattering wallop.  
"__Didn't anyone tell you it ain't nice to talk to a lady that way?__" hissed Axel in a demonic tone as the man before him wheezed aloud and spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth. Axel didn't have much time to revel in his victory before another one of the Theater goers jumped into the fray, slamming his fist into the smaller males nose with as much force as he could muster and successfully knocking Axel to the floor with a loud and painful sounding grunt. Before Axel had even hit the floor, Mark too had begun leaping over the rows of seats to defend his fallen comrade, drop kicking Axel's attacker right in the chest and sending him flying backwards and flipping over the row of seats behind them.  
"__DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM YOU PIECE OF SHIT__!" roared Mark as he quickly regained his balance and leaped forward and onto the stunned male, throwing punch after punch into his slimy face, oblivious to the escalating drama around him.  
Lisa looked up at Mick and flashed her honorary older brother a quick smirk. She had to admit, watching Mark and Axel jump in to defend her honor without even really thinking about it was oddly flattering. Reaching into her bag with withdrawing her signature weapon, Lisa clicked the gun off of standby and prepared it for action. Placing a hand onto Mick's shoulder, Lisa gave it a small squeeze before she too took off like a bolt of lightening towards the increasingly wild fight up the back of the dark Theater.  
"__We can continue this little conversation later, now are you coming or what__?" she bellowed back at Mick as she fired a shot from her Gold-Gun into the crowd, the shot connecting with one of the brawlers chests and almost instantly covering him head to toe in a thick layer of solid gold.

* * *

Out in the Lobby, Cold handed over a crisp looking $5 note and thanked the cashier as she handed him his light blue slush-drink. The irony wasn't lost on him. Grasping it firmly in his hands, Cold ducked his head down and quickly made his way through the packed Lobby and towards the doors leading back into the Theater and more importantly, that god awful movie. Feeling his chest tighten with every step he took, Cold quickly upped the pace at which he walked. Cold had never been a big fan of crowds. They made him feel uneasy and the lack of control he felt in them wasn't something he was comfortable with, but hell, he'd deal with a million crowds with a damn smile if it meant not having to watch another second of this fucking movie.

Pushing past the final few people with mumbled apologies and sympathetic glances, Cold just about threw himself through the double doors and into the Theater. Against all odds he'd survived the crowd and safely made it back to the movie, and he genuinely couldn't be any prouder of himself.  
"__God, that was tougher than dealing with that fucking Gorilla"__ he muttered to himself as he stalked forward and re-submerged himself in the darkness of the Theater and unfortunately made his way back to that damn movie, but before he could breath easy just yet he froze on the spot when he got a good eyeful of the chaos that had descended upon the room in the whole 5 minutes he'd been away getting a damn drink. Up the back of the Theater he could spot Mick, Lisa, Mark and Axel all slap bang in the dead centre of a massive brawl that seemed to include everyone currently being subjected to the awful movie. Cold had to admit, from a distance his little team's ability to work together was extremely impressive. Their flow was air-tight and their communication skills seemed to be top-notch if the way they were playing off of each other was anything to go on. How things had changed since their first foray together just over a month ago. If only Grodd could seem them now.

Placing his still full slushie into one of the cup-holders on the arms of the Theater chairs and sliding out of his parka, Cold delicately placed his jacket down over the same chair and let out an exasperated sigh as he cracked his knuckles. Oh well, one for all and all for one, or whatever that bullshit saying was. Roaring like a spartan warrior as he charged towards the manic fight before him with reckless abandon, Cold tackled one of the taller men to the floor and began smashing the males face into the sticky floor while his fellow rogues continued to hold their own around him. He had already thought it once tonight, but this only made it official. Captain Cold really hated to admit it, but he could get used to this.

* * *

Back at the apartment, The infamous Central City Rogues all moaned and groaned as they trudged into the apartment, looking incredibly worse for wear. Cold was the first to stumble in, his completely melted slush-drink pressed against the side of his now massively swollen face, grunting every few seconds as he slowly made his way up the stairs and towards his room. Behind Cold trailed Lisa and Mick, both already sporting painful looking black eyes and Mick missing one of his front teeth. Lisa said nothing as she walked straight past the living room and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut without even so much as a good night to the rest of them, although from within her room a painful groan could be heard she she flopped down onto her mattress. It wasn't going to be an easy night.  
At the bottom of the stairs, Mick look up towards Cold and thought about the conversation he and Lisa had earlier on that evening. Mick squirmed uncomfortably on the spot and bit his bottom lip anxiously. He sure hoped he wouldn't regret this. Taking off up the stairs and after the man he called 'Len', Mick sped up in an attempt to catch Cold before he locked himself away for the night.  
"__Yo Lenny, wait up, i uh, i gotta talk to you.__"

Also eventually edging his way into the apartment was Mark, with a fast asleep Axel being carried in the taller males arms like some kind of precious cargo. Out of the 5 of them Mark seemed to be in the best shape as besides a scratch or two here and there he looked perfectly fine. The smaller male bundled up in his arms however wasn't doing quite as well if the broken nose and slick trail of blood coating the bottom half of his face and most of his t-shirt were anything to go on. Kicking the front door shut behind him and somehow managing to lock it without dropping the sleeping male in his arms, Mark carried on to Axel's room at the end of the hall. Silently pushing the door open, Mark softly tread forward towards the bed and carefully lay the still sleeping Axel down gently on the comfortable spongy surface. Looking down at the sleeping male and smiling to himself as he did, Mark began to step back and towards the door when Axel's hand shot up and grabbed Mark's, a small wiry smirk clearly visible on Axel's exhausted looking features.  
"__Yo Mark, thanks for tonight man. I had fun__." Axel said, his voice wavering as he stared up at Mark with heavy-lidded eyes.  
"__Besides the whole 'Broken Nose" thing i'm willing to bet, right__?" Mark whispered with a chuckle as he sat down on the edge of Axel's bed, his eyes still firmly locked with with tired looking males and their hands still entwined.  
"It wasn't ideal i'll admit, but you get what i mean. Thanks for sticking up for me back there. It means a lot dude..." Axel muttered as he rolled around in his bed, desperately trying to get more comfortable before allowing himself to fall asleep. There was a few moments of silence between the two men, although it wasn't awkward. Clearing his throat and sniffing breathlessly, Axel sighed to himself and sat back up in bed before leaning against the wall behind him. He looked towards Mark and felt his confidence waver, his body language shifting from exhausted to nervous almost instantly. Axel was almost 100% sure he'd come to regret this, but here goes nothing.  
"__Listen, Mark. I dont suppose you'd, y'know... wanna grab a drink some time? Or maybe go out to dinner or something like that__?" said Axel, his fingers drumming along his knees nervously while his eyes glanced around the room, looking anywhere but towards the man sat in front of him.  
"__What? Like a, uhh... like a date?__" Mark said, an unmistakable redness slowly beginning to creep onto his cheeks as they spoke.  
"__Yeah, like a date"__ Axel said, swallowing loudly, the silence in the room around them seemed much more oppressive than it had just a few moment's ago. Mark looked at Axel with wide-eyes and opened his mouth to say something before slamming it shut again, instead simply nodding at the other male. A wide infectious smile slowly began to surface on the taller males face as he continued to nod, apparently unable to stop.  
"__Yeah. That uh, that sounds really good__" Mark said nervously. Across from him, Axel looked ecstatic at Mark's answer.  
"__Awesome. Fuckin' awesome man. It's a date then.__" Axel said in a hushed tone as he too began to turn a marvelous shade of red. Across from him, Mark leaned over the bed and planted a gentle kiss onto Axel's forehead before he rose to his feet and made his way towards the door. Axel blushed and collapsed back into bed, immediately wrapping himself up tight in the covers and facing the wall to hide the massive grin that refused to leave his face from Mark. He didn't want to embarrass himself by looking like a lovesick teenager, so facing the wall was the best alternative.  
"__Night Axel__" Mark whispered as he stepped out into the hallway, looking back in and towards the now perfectly still frame laying underneath the covers.  
__"Goodnight yourself hot-stuff__" Axel whispered in a cheeky tone as Mark carefully shut the bedroom door behind him.

* * *

Upstairs in Cold's bedroom, the only noise that could be heard penetrating the total silence was the sound of Lenny's deep snoring as both Mick and Lenny lay under the covers the massive king sized bed, with Mick playing the part of the big spoon and Lenny effortlessly slipping into the role of the little spoon. While the grey-haired male slept peacefully in his arms, Mick looked up towards the ceiling with a content smile on his rough features and thought on the conversation he had with Lisa earlier that evening. After all the time they'd spent together over the last 17 years, Mick truly wasn't sure what he and Lenny considered themselves anymore. To say it was complicated would be the biggest under-statement of the millenium. But none of that mattered really. As he lay in the warm bed with Lenny's slender frame pressed against his own, Mick finally closed his eyes and surrendered his body to sleeps warm embrace. Mick honestly couldn't care less about name-tags. He was happy, and that was all that mattered.


	5. The One Where They Go To The Supermarket

After last nights little outing to the Movies had turned into a budget version of 'Super Smash Bros', Cold had wanted nothing more than a lazy day in bed. That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Just a day to himself where he wasn't expected to do anything or speak to anyone. A day where he could do absolutely nothing but lay in bed in nothing but his underwear while eating copious amounts of junk food and catching up on 'Mob Wives'. It had sounded like total bliss, but if living with his new room mates had taught him anything over the last 4 weeks, it was that you don't always get what you want. Instead Cold had found himself being dragged to the nearest Supermarket to re-stock their fridge after it was discovered that the thing was literally empty, bar two eggs and a carton of well-expired milk. Considering he was living with four other adults, the fact the fridge had gotten to that stage of emptiness without anyone thinking to try and re-stock it was shameful, but then again he was talking about the same group of people who couldn't even go to a damn Movie without throwing down, so really it was Cold's fault for expecting way too much from them.

Exhaling deeply as he perused the Chilled Isles of the oddly quiet Supermarket, Cold shook his head in a futile attempt to shake away the exhaustion and general pain he felt all over his body, but especially on his still massively swollen cheek. Cold did have a list of what he needed to buy this morning written down somewhere, but couldn't remember for the life of him where he'd stashed it. Chances are it was still in the van. Normally Cold could just rely on his near photo-graphic memory for all this mundane nonsense, but considering he was almost 100% sure that he was still suffering the repercussions of a rather serious concussion Cold's usually spot on memory was absolutely useless this morning. Cursing under his breath as he continued pushing the cart forward through the Isles, Cold paused briefly and snatched 3 Carton's of Skimmed Milk off the shelf and tossed them into the shopping cart, accidentally hitting Mick, who somehow had convinced Cold to push him around in the Cart, right in the face with one of them.

"__Fucking hell Lenny, watch where you're throwing shit__!" hissed Mick from within the metal cart, his legs hanging over the side as he placed the carton's of milk down gently next to him.  
"__The only thing going to be getting thrown around here Mick is you out of this damn cart if you don't stop your incessant complaining.__" Cold replied almost too casually as he continued on down the isle without missing a beat. Mick looked up at Cold and flipped him off while sticking his tongue out playfully. Cold did his best to stifle a laugh, if he'd learnt anything in his dealings with Mick it was that it was best to not encourage him.  
"__So... we gonna talk about last night__?" Mick said while glancing around the isle somewhat nervously.  
"__What about it? You want to talk about the horrible movie? Or maybe the brawl you four initiated? Or maybe you wanna talk about the cuddling?__" Cold replied, his tone venomous and his face un-amused.  
"__Well personally i'd call what happened last night between us 'Spooning', but yeah, let's talk about that.__" Mick chuckled.  
"__Without sounding pedantic, what's there to say? It's not like it's the first time it's happened and lets face it Mick, chances are it won't be the last time either__" Cold said with a shrug of indifference, but the reddish hue's on his cheeks told Mick a different story.  
"'__Won't be the last time either'? Do i detect slightest glimmer of hope in your tone Leonard?__" Mick teased as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down and flashed Cold a sultry look. This little look was short lived however as when Cold turned the corner at the top of the Isle he suddenly tipped the cart completely over to its side and sent Mick flying out and skidding across the floor, only stopping when he crashed into the bottom of one of the countless chillers lining the isle with a catastrophic sounding crash.  
"__Don't say i didn't warn you.__" Cold sneered as he tipped the cart back up onto it's 4 legs and continued on through the store, not even bothering to stop and check if the other man was alright.

Laying on the cold tiled flooring of the Supermarket, Mick reached up to rub his already sore head and groaned deeply. Well, that didn't go as well as he'd planned. Mick already had a headache of legendary proportions after last nights little incident at the movies, so needless to say smacking his head hard off a solid-metal cooler didn't exactly help matters. Wincing painfully as he literally forced himself back up off the floor and onto his feet, Mick grumbled to himself and began dusting himself down after his little spill. Okay, maybe dealing with the situation between him and Lenny would take a more delicate approach than he had originally intended.

* * *

For the other 3 Rogues, it was safe to say that the shopping trip was going much better. Currently stood in the center of the Cereal Isle looking at the hundreds of brightly coloured boxes with an odd look of fascination visible in their eyes were Mark, Axel and Lisa. Mark was the one actually pushing their shopping cart and Lisa was sitting in it, although she was behaving noticeably better than Mick had been across the other end of the store. Axel meanwhile was currently being piggy-backed around the store by the much taller male, his head resting comfortably on Mark's shoulder as he too scoped out the isle and the choices laid out before him.

"__So, any idea what we're wanting? I'm kinda feeling like we should get something dripping in sugar and smothered in Chocolate. Ah! That'll do!__" Lisa exclaimed happily as she extended her arm outwards and grabbed a box of 'Cocoa Krispies' off the shelf and dropped it to her side in the cart.  
"__Hmm, i honestly don't know what i want. There's too many choices man__." Mark said aloud as he scratched the bottom of his stubbly chin absentmindedly.  
"__Why not go for something sickeningly sweet like Lisa and I? Speaking of which, Lisa, be a dear and grab me a box of 'Cookie Crisp' yeah__?' Axel said. Lisa nodded in reply and grabbed the box from the shelf and placed it down into the cart and next to her own cereal.  
"__That's all well and good for you two, but i haven't really got much in the way of a sweet tooth.__" Mark admitted as he shrugged his shoulders, inadvertently bouncing Axel's head up and down as he did so. This was hopeless, never mind completely overwhelming. Since when had there been so many options when it came to cereal for Christ sake! Heaving out a heavy sounding sigh, Mark grabbed a box of 'Raisin Bran' off the shelf and handed it to Lisa, who in turn placed it down next to the other two boxes in the cart.

"'__Raisin Bran'? Really? I wasn't aware you were actually 83 years old Mark.__" Lisa jeered as she leaned back in the shopping cart. Still being carried around on the taller males back, Axel chuckled to himself before he placed his chin back down on Marks shoulders.  
"__You've gotta hand it to him though Lisa, he does look good for 83 doesn't he__?" Axel remarked as he pushed his head forward and lightly kissed Mark's cheek. Mark's eyes widened and for a split second the cart began to veer ever so slightly to the left. In the cart, Lisa rolled her eyes and slammed her foot into metal wiring that made up the back of the cart, forcefully dragging Mark out of his little daydream and back into the waking world.

"H__ey Markimoo, eyes on the isle already! If this cart wipes out because you're too busy thinking about where else you want Axel's lips then i won't be a happy girl.__" Lisa said threateningly while she cracked her knuckles for dramatic effect. His mind now fully focused back on steering, Mark swallowed roughly and nodded nervously at the brunette currently glaring at him from within the cart.  
"__Yes ma'am__." He responded shakily, continuing on down the isle while on his shoulder Axel began giggling wildly.  
"__Dude, you are so whipped!__" Axel whispered into the taller males ear with a hushed chuckle.  
"__Can you blame me? She's terrifying!__ Mark whispered back, his eyes slightly wider than usual.  
"__Uh guys, i'm not deaf...__" spoke Lisa while she looked up towards the two males with a less than impressed look on her fair features. Behind Mark, Axel stuck his tongue out at the girl and flashed her a cheeky smirk.  
"__We know Lisa, could've swore you were blind though looking at your hair.__"  
Feigning shock, Lisa placed one hand on her chest and use the other to flip Axel off. As she did, the three Rogues all burst into a seemingly uncontrollable fit of wild laughter, garnering the attention of the few other shoppers that passed them by.

* * *

Meeting up at exactly 11:30am like Cold had said, the group of 5 Rogues all stood around and listened as Cold gave out his orders. Mark, Axel and Lisa were to unload the 2 now overstuffed shopping carts of groceries onto the conveyor at the Tills while Cold and Mick went off to the little on-site cafe and got them all a table, since as it drew nearer to midday the Supermarket was quickly getting busier and busier. Easy enough, Lisa thought to herself while she watched her brother and Mick pace off towards the cafe before she herself got busy helping Mark and Axel in unloading the cart. After last night's little bust-up the three Rogues decided it was best not to push Cold's buttons today so without any complaints the three just decided to get down to business and began unloading the carts up and onto the conveyor, chatting among themselves as they went.

Things were going alright all things considered, i mean, no one had thrown a punch yet and besides the astoundingly slow pace at which the Cashier was actually dealing with customers this hadn't actually been an all to unpleasant trip. This generally pleasant atmosphere carried on unperturbed for the next few minutes before Lisa looked up and noticed Mick powering out of the cafe and towards the exit out of the Supermarket with a face like thunder while Lenny remained alone in the cafe, looking beyond stressed out as he poured two sachets of sugar a large cup of coffee. Lisa made a face at the sight and turned to look at Mark and Axel.

"__Hey guys, any chance you two could finish up here? I think something's just happened with Lenny__" Lisa said, her tone almost dripping with concern.  
Mark looked past the small brunette and towards the sullen looking male sitting in the cafe with his Parka hood up covering most of his face. Mark couldn't be sure if it was due to Cold and Mick's apparent exchange of words or if it was to cover up the bruises from the cinema brawl last night, either way it didn't look good. Next to him, Axel winced aloud as he too caught sight of Cold sitting at the table.  
"__Yeah Lisa, go ahead. We can handle this.__" Mark spoke as he continued on with unpacking the cart. Next to him, Axel gave Lisa and sincere look and gestured towards the cafe.  
"__Yeah, no worries. Just go check he's alright."__ Axel said in as compassionate a tone as he could muster given the circumstances.

Lisa thanked her fellow Rogues and gave them both a thumbs-up before she began to pace forward towards where Lenny sat in the cafe. Lisa would have to try and be delicate with this, which wouldn't be easy. She seemed to lack a filter whenever it came to talking to her brother and that was something she couldn't afford today given the circumstances. Carefully slipping into the seat facing Cold, Lisa leaned back against the oddly uncomfortable chair and reached her hand out to grasp her brothers hand in her own, giving it a light squeeze. Across the table, Lenny lifted his head up and rewarded her efforts with the slightest moment of eye-contact before he glanced back down to the table, apparently more interested in the cup of coffee sitting before him than actually speaking with his sister.

"__So, you gonna tell me what happened or am i gonna need to wring it out of you?"__ Lisa said playfully, her grip on her brothers hand remaining iron-tight as she awaited his answer. Across the table, Cold could be heard sighing as he flicked his head back, knocking his hood off his head and onto his shoulders.  
"__Tell you what exactly__?"Cold replied with a disinterested shrug.  
"__About what just happened with Mick Lenny. I mean, you two seemed pretty cozy this morning and now he's charged off in a mood and left you sitting around yourself looking like you've just been told you've only got a week to live...__" Lisa stated a bit too callously for Cold's liking.  
"__I hardly see how that's any of your business,__" Cold started "__But if you must know, Mick wanted to know where we stand after last night. I guess he never liked the answer he got."__  
__"Ah, that explains it. Take it you're still in the same boat as you were last time you called it quits?"__ Lisa asked  
__"If by that you mean i told him that we can't be an actual 'thing' again until we have a proper sit down and discuss what exactly we mean to each other like living breathing adults, then yes, that'd be what happened__." Cold muttered as he tore open a third sachet of sugar and poured it into his coffee.  
"__Right, right... look at me Len, and be honest with me. Are you okay?__" Lisa said softly, looking up at her brother with a sympathetic look on her face.  
__"Yeah, i'm fine. I mean, my face is still absolutely fucking killing me, but besides all that i'm fine. I'd rather get yelled at and called every crude name under the sun than pretend everything between Mick and I is fine. I don't deserve that, and truthfully neither does he. We've been through too much together for that..."__ Cold said resolutely as he took a slow careful sip from the still steaming cup. Lisa looked at her brother with a curious look on her face before she simply dismissed it, deciding it best not to interrogate her brother over his incredibly complicated relationship with Mick. If the last 17 years of their relationship had taught her anything, it was that everything that happened between them happened on Lenny's terms. As selfish as it sounded, Lisa understood it and Lenny's reasoning behind it. It was just a shame that after all this time, Mick didn't seem to.

* * *

The sun was beating down heavily on the 5 Central City Rogues as they all loaded the shopping cart's into the back of their van, although it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it wasn't going as easily as it should have. While Mark, Axel and Lisa got stuck into emptying the carts, they couldn't help but notice that Mick seemed to be both actively ignoring Lenny and also desperately trying to get his attention. Problem was Lenny didn't seem all that interested either way. Mick coughed, spluttered, elbowed Cold in the sides and even went as far as to physically shove him forward and into the side of one of the carts, but it was all for nothing as Cold didn't even look in Micks general direction never mind actually take the time to react to his childish little ploy's for attention. After a few more useless attempts, Mick threw his hands up into the air and stormed off for the second time today, obscenities could be heard escaping the larger males lips as he trundled off back towards the store. Meanwhile, back at the van the 4 remaining Rogues all started chuckling away to themselves as they watched Mick disappear around the corner of the shop.

"__And that Ladies and Gentleman is how you deal with an unruly pissbaby."__ Lisa announced as she placed the final shopping bag into the back of the van.  
"Holy shit dude! I could barely hold in my laughter! That was intense!" Axel cheered as he held his hand up before Cold, who shook his head and laughed as he reluctantly reached up and high-fived with Axel.  
"__It was pretty impressive. Seems that 'Cold' isn't just a moniker.__" Mark added with a smirk while he closed the back doors of the van.  
"__We'll, i've had years of practice in dealing with Mick's little mood-swings, so yeah, consider me an expert."__ Cold said with a smile as he grabbed both the now empty cart's before him and began to step away from the van. "Right, i'm gonna get rid of these and then we can head back to the apartment."  
Both Mark and Lisa nodded and said something in the affirmative in response to Cold, but it was Axel who suddenly froze on the spot and raised his arms into the air, a look of sheer excitement on his face as he began to speak aloud to the group around him.  
"__Guys, guys, guys... i've got a fucking GREAT idea!__" Axel basically screamed as the other 3 Rogues all looked at him with raised eyebrows, at this point Axel was basically jumping up and down on the spot and clapping excitedly. Cold would hand it too him, as annoying as he was the majority of the time, Axel's overly cheerful attitude truly was infectious.

"__Two words everyone. Two mother-fucking words... CART RACE!"__

* * *

And that's how Cold, Mark, Lisa and Axel found themselves stood at the bottom end of the increasingly busy parking lot getting ready to race. Team One consisted of Cold and Lisa and Team Two of course was Mark and Axel. Mark and Cold were the legs of the operation and the ones who would be doing the pushing while Lisa and Axel sat inside the Carts, both grinning wildly as behind them the two drivers turned to look at each other. Mark looked confident and ready to race, while Cold unsurprisingly looked somewhat anxious.

"__Alright ladies and gentlemen, the rules are simple. First team to make it across the car-park and to the van wins! No weapons or super-powers allowed. Besides that, i'd say that we're good to go!"__ Axel exclaimed dramatically as he swung his arms forward and latched himself onto the front of the cart, bouncing up and down excitedly as he mentally prepared himself for the race.  
Cold gripped the handlebar tightly and forcefully swallowed down the lump in his throat. Cold hadn't much experience in this sort of thing and to be honest he could feel his nerves getting to him if the thin layer of perspiration building up on the palms of his hands were anything to go on. Cold's time spent reveling in insecurity was short lived however, as in the cart next to him he could see Axel beginning the countdown. Cold exhaled deeply and delicately sucked in a deep yet shaky breath. Well, here goes nothing.  
"__Alright everyone... 3... 2... 1... GO!__"

The tires of the shopping carts screeched as both teams took off and began tearing down the road and towards the van. The rattling of the metal cart seemed to penetrate the air around them as both teams quickly began picking up speed and continued on down the wide expanse of road before them. Inside their respective carts, Axel and Lisa were laughing wildly as they bounced around in the rickety metal frames while behind them Cold and Mark breathing was becoming more and more rapid the faster their legs carried them. Around them, people looked on to the race with both disgust and excitement as the two opposing teams rocketed closer and closer towards the parked white van. Both carts however remained almost level with each other as they carried on, at this rate it would be a tie. Cold however, never settled before and wasn't going to settle now. Gripping the cart tightly once again, Cold let out a animalistic roar as he swung his body to the left and rammed the side of his own cart into Mark and Axel's. Both Males in the opposing team's eyes widened as the sudden jolt completely threw Mark's balance to the wayside, loosing control of the cart as they slammed directly into a parked car . Inside the trolley Axel grunted aloud as he was forcefully fired forward and into the metal mesh at the front of the cart while Mark himself yelped as he too was thrown, his body flipping over the cart and onto the car before him's solid metal hood, landing on his back with a thunderous clanging noise and a painful sounding grunt.

Still charging towards the goal, Lisa and Cold screamed and cheered like they were possessed as the other team behind them faded off into obscurity and the van before them, which had once seemed miles away, drew nearer and neared with each second that passed.  
"__HOLY SHIT LENNY! That was sick!__" Lisa screamed, her long brown hair blowing wildly in the wind as she squinted ahead of her, trying to see how far they had to go. __"Who knew you had it in you!"__  
"__I told you i was a badass sis! You've gotta learn to trust me more!"__ Cold bellowed back, continuing to charge forward and towards the van. They were less than 30 feet away now. They'd won. They'd actually won!  
__"Yeah well, i'll keep that in mind next time whe..."__ Lisa stopped mid-sentence and looked forward with a horrified look suddenly donning on her face. __"Lenny stop the cart!"__  
__"What?"__ Lenny said back, turning whatever shred of attention he was actually paying on the road before him onto his sister.  
__"I SAID STOP THE CART!__" Lisa shrieked, as a few feet away from them their white van began pulling out of it's space in the car park and directly into their line of trajectory. Cold gasped aloud and did his best to stop the cart, but it was too late. Slamming directly into the side of the cart with a booming crash, Lisa grunted aloud as she flew forward and crashed into the thin metal mesh at the front of the cart, much like Axel had just moments before. Cold didn't even have time to react as he too was forced forward, flipping upwards and over the cart and face first into the side of the van. Letting out a deep guttural moan as he collided into the smooth white metal surface before bouncing off and landing on the hot concrete road, Cold's head ricocheted off the solid surface beneath him as his vision instantly cut to black.

* * *

Several hours passed by before Cold finally began to come to. It took him longer than he'd like to admit to actually get his bearings back, but eventually everything came back to him. That was both the first and last time Cold would let the rest of them convince him to join in on their 'fun'. Technically Cold deserved what happened to him after he purposely sabotaged Mark and Axel in their little race, but the pain he felt at that moment in time refused to allowed him to feel anything other than sorry for himself. Cold's head pounded like someone had beat him upside the head with a jackhammer and his whole body ached like he'd been ran over by a speeding train. Cold groaned silently as he reached upwards and ran a hand down his face, the already swollen cheekbone felt as hard as a diamond beneath his trembling fingertips. Peeling open his eye, Cold realized he wasn't back at the apartment, nor was he in the hospital but actually he was laying down in the back seat of the van covered in a thin cotton blanket with a pillow propping his head up. In the seats in front of him sat Lisa and Mick, both looking towards him with what he hoped was concern on their faces, but really he recognized it as pity.

__"Shit, How long have i been out?"__ Cold mumbled as he considered sitting up, but ultimately chose against it as the pain currently consuming his entire being continued to eat away at him.  
__"About 7 hours or so. How you feeling Lenny?__" Lisa said softly, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. Before Cold had time to respond, an anxious looking Mick cut into the conversation and began rambling away with no sign of stopping.  
__"Look babe, i'm so fuckin' sorry about earlier. I mean, for storming out of the cafe and for y'know... pulling the van out and almost killing you and i'm sorry fo..."__ Mick said bashfully as without another word, Cold reached forward and placed his index finger over Micks lips and shushed him. Smiling upwards at the burly pyromaniac, Cold removed his hand from Micks face and reached down, entwining his fingers with Micks and successfully shutting the other man up. Normally, Cold would have definitely corrected Mick for daring to call him 'babe' in front of anyone, never mind in front of Lisa, but considering how he felt right now all Cold really wanted was for Mick to simply shut up and let Cold get on with feeling sorry for himself. As an added bonus, Mick's hands were always warm and oddly soft, something which Cold had always found strangely comforting.

Their hands still entwined as Cold looked away from Mick and towards Lisa, Cold chocked out a hollow sounding cough and finally summoned up the courage to sit up in his seat, letting out a loud and painful sounding groan as he did so.  
"__So i really hate to ask, why are we still in this van and not back at the apartment"__ Cold said hesitantly, genuinely dreading what the answer he was going to get in reply could be. Both Mick and Lisa turned to each other and seemed to being fighting among themselves as to who was going to tell Cold the bad news, they somehow managed to have this entire exchange without saying a single word. Cold would admit it was impressive, but the delay did nothing to silence his already nervous demeanor. Mick violently shook his head and Lisa rolled her eyes in response before she turned her head back to Cold and began to explain exactly what was going on. She was hiding it well, but Cold definitely picked up on a hint of fear in her usually sweet sounding voice.  
"__Well, It's actually a funny story See we actually did take you to the apartment first, but not long after we put you to bed we got a little phonecall... from Hartley."__  
In the backseat, Cold threw his head back and groaned aloud, not from the pain currently wracking his entire being but from the idea of even being in the same room as the odious little prick that they knew as Hartley. For a brief time, Hartley had indeed been a member of their little Rogues gallery, but after ego's had clashed and punches had been thrown, Hartley had kindly been asked to leave the group.

__"Oh for god sake, what did that little shit want?"__ Cold growled. Mick laughed at the hostility Cold was showing while Lisa just continued to look uncomfortable. Cold had a feeling this conversation was about to get much worse.  
__"Well, seems Hartley has found himself in a bit of a jam, so he kindly asked us if we could come and help him out."__ Lisa began, her fingers drumming nervously on the back of the leather seats. "And we said we would."  
__"Aww guys, c'mon! I get knocked unconscious for a few hours and this is what happens?"__ Cold bellowed, withdrawing his hand from Mick's and folding both him arms over his chest in a manor mirroring that of a spoiled child's. "__So what trouble has Hartley found himself in this time? Do i even want to know?"__  
__"Well, he didn't go into specifics, but it seems Hartley has inadvertently started a Gang War. Apparently he was playing both side and found himself slap bang in the middle when things went pear-shaped. I've gotta say Len, he sounded pretty scared when he called me. I mean, sure he was obnoxious as ever, but he sounded genuinely terrified too. I couldn't say no. Once a Rogue, always a Rogue, y'know?__" Lisa said  
__"First of all, that saying just there? Totally not a real thing. Second of all, as much as i hate to admit it i'd have done the same thing..."__ Cold said hesitantly as he turned his attention off of the two Rogues sitting in front of him and out the van's windows, looking out into the dark and peaceful night sky, although he'd soon wish he hadn't. Cold was momentarily thrown off when he quickly realized that he hadn't the foggiest clue where he was or where they were driving too. Somehow he knew going off to help Hartley wasn't going to be the worst thing Lisa had to tell him. Sealing his eyes tightly shut and sucking in a deep and controlled breath, Cold rested his head against the icy cool window and spoke as calmly as possible.  
__"Lisa... where exactly has Hartley started this gang war?"__  
__"See, that's the part we didn't tell you Len, But by the looks of that sign up ahead i think were finally here."__ Lisa responded somewhat shakily. Cold absolutely dreaded opening his eyes, but much like with removing a plaster it was better to simply get it over and done with all at once to avoid prolonged suffering. Peering open his eyes with an almost palpable hesitation, Cold looked ahead and automatically caught sight of the massive billboard the car was currently speeding towards. As he read the words on the billboard, Cold couldn't help but wonder if it were possible to throw himself out the car onto the motorway and simply end his suffering there and then, but if living with his 4 new roommates had taught him anything it was that nothing was really ever that simple.

The sign itself only 4 words written on it, but they were words Cold knew meant absolutely nothing but trouble.

_** "Welcome To Gotham City".**_


	6. The One Where They Go To Gotham City

Cold's would describe how he felt in that exact moment as 'blind panic' as he continued to force his way through the dilapidated warehouse as fast as his feet would carry them. Normally this sort of situation wouldn't have been such a problem, but after what had just went down in the other room Mark wasn't in such good shape. The taller males eyes were half-shut and unfocused as he haphazardly clung onto Cold with one arm around the smaller males shoulder and the other clutching his own gut, blood gushing from the still fresh wound with every step the pair took. Behind them, the wild screeches and howls of the masked gang chasing them filled the air with an unmistakable feeling of dread. The sound was drawing closer by the second. Cold had to think of something fast. Looking briefly over his shoulder, Cold fired a stream of ice from his gun without aiming, the glistening snowy substance slicing through the air and colliding with four of the countless Masked freaks chasing after them, instantly sealing their assailant's up in a rock-hard container of solid ice. This however did nothing to hinder the rest of the oncoming horde who never even so much as glanced at their fallen companions as they continued their unrelenting pursuit of the two men.

Cold could feel himself being dragged down by the now almost motionless figure desperately clinging to him. Mark's normally tanned skin was quickly beginning to turn a sickly shade of white and his eyes were now completely glazed over. Mark's other hand was still cemented onto his stomach and the blood seeping through his finger's showed no signed of relenting. Mark was loosing too much blood at way too fast a rate. If Cold didn't get him sat down and tended to the wound in his stomach soon then there was a good chance that Mark wouldn't be making it back to Central City with the rest of the gang. Noticing an awfully convenient set of double doors just up ahead, Cold wrapped his arm around Marks waist and heaved him up properly as he took off towards the doors with as much speed as his tired feet could manage. Swinging his arm back around behind him, Cold fired another shot from his Cold-Gun, this time covering the floor with a slick layer of solid ice instead of focusing on the hired goons giving chase. The horde never seemed to noticed the ice being made beneath their feet and one by one they all lost their footing on the slippery concrete floor and crashed to the ground with a thunderous series of bumps and thuds.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity presented to him, Cold literally forced both himself and Mark forward and through the double doors, sprinting into the seemingly empty room and taking in their surroundings as fast as he possibly could. Okay, he could do this. They were in a large spacious room. It was dusty so it clearly hadn't really been used in a while. Two big windows, although they were on the second floor so they weren't much use as of now. A stack of large wooden boxes were to their left and three empty units were to their right, by the looks of things this had been used for storage at some point. Besides that there was nothing else worth noting. No way up or down besides the door they came through and that clearly wasn't an option. Walking Mark over towards the boxes and gently laying the male down against them, Cold turned his Cold-Gun towards the door and fired at it, covering the door into the room in a thick layer of solid ice. Outside the room, the horrific screeches of the wild mob grew louder once more as they approached and began pounding into the doorway to absolutely no avail. The ice wall Cold had built was far too strong for those imbeciles to crack, but knowing that lot they'd find a way in sooner or later. Although it was only a temporary solution to their problem it would have to suffice for the moment. Reaching into the right pocket of his Parka, Cold withdrew his mobile phone and speed-dialed the first number he could think of, Lisa's. The awful toneless beeping of the call sounded like thunder in Cold's already throbbing head and after what seemed like an eternity the tone lead to Lisa's voice-mail. That wasn't good. Cold could feel a sweat beginning to form all over his skin as he tried both Mick and Axel's mobiles too, both of whom's phone's also went straight to voice-mail after ringing out. It was official, Cold was panicking.

Dialing Lisa's phone once again, Cold began muttering countless obscenities under his breath as he awaited to see if the call was successful or not. Moments passed, and Cold let out a wild sounding grunt of sheer anger as Lisa's voice-message began playing in his ear once again. Doing his best to pull in a shaky and extremely uneven breath, Cold managed to somehow level his voice as he prepared to leave his message. Hopefully it would get to the others on time.  
"__Lisa, It's Lenny__" Cold started, the anxiousness in his voice was palpable as he spoke. "__Listen, Mark and I are trapped up on the second floor. It's not looking good. I've somehow managed to stall those assholes outside. Honestly though i don't know how long it's gonna be before they find a way in here. Mark's bleeding out so i'm gonna try and patch him up before they find a way in. We need your help NOW Lisa. Please... please just hurry."__  
And with that, Cold hung up the phone and turned towards Mark, his eyes still unfocused and his skin as white as a sheet, although since they had stopped running the bleeding seemed to have slowed right down to a manageable pace, which was something to be thankful for at least. Jogging up to the other Rogue, Cold shrugged out of his parka and slapped Mark harshly across the face, the sudden jolt of pain harshly dragging Mark out of his stupor and back into the waking world with a bang.  
"__Mark, i know it's difficult but you're gonna need to stay awake with me for this..."__ Cold said as he reached into the pocket in the lining of his jacket and withdrew what looked like a small makeshift first-aid kid. __"'Cause big guy, this is gonna suck."__

* * *

\+ A FEW DAYS EARLIER +

The Rogues had been in Gotham City for almost 48 hours and Hartley's trail had gone completely cold. They'd hunted the city high and low and searched in every dark and dank crevasse the city had to offer, but so far they'd only come up with scraps of useless information. Normally shaking down a city's low lives for information would have been a much easier task, but with Rumors that the infamous Gotham City Bat was on the warpath trying to put an end to the ongoing turf war before it spiraled out of control, the Rogues had been forced to take a much more relaxed approach to their information gathering. They'd started small, namely hitting the local dive bars to see if anyone knew anything worth noting but had left empty handed and disappointed when literally everyone in the place had refused to even look at them, never mind go spilling the secrets of the most prominent members of Gotham's Rogues Gallery. From there on out they'd gotten a little less subtle in their approach to information gathering and after a mostly successful shake-down at 'The Gotham Olympus' casino, the owner of that fine establishment - a Mr Maximilian Zeus - had finally given them a name and an address.

L. Valentin  
4020-4040 Harbourside Avenue  
South Pier  
Gotham Docks

Deciding to check the place out since a shit lead was better than no lead, the Rogues took off towards Gotham's South Pier in the hopes that after wasting a whole day for absolutely nothing that this lead would actually provide them with something useful to go on. Pulling up a right outside the warehouse, the 4 Rogues stepped out of the car and prepared themselves for whatever they were about to walk into. The Moon shone down brightly on the silent pier and an icy wind blew through them as they stood huddled together gazing onto the seemingly abandoned warehouse. This seemed overly suspicious. After they'd set Mick loose on him, Mr. Zeus had been pretty open with the details. While he didn't seem to have the faintest clue who Hartley Rathaway was, never mind where exactly he was, Maximilian did give them this address while promising that they'd find out everything they could ever need to know here, but just taking a quick look at it Cold couldn't help but feel that He and his Rogues had been played. The place was desolate, seemingly abandoned and frankly looked like it was one strong breeze off collapsing. Cold turned towards his companions, and if the looks on their faces were anything to go on they seemed to be thinking the same thing he was. Raising a gloved hand up and caressing his rather sore cheek tenderly, Cold let out a tired sounding sigh and began heading towards the building.  
"__Well, were not gonna find anything out here. Let's look for a way in.__" Cold said, squinting his eyes as he tried to scope the place out. There had to be a door somewhere, although chances were that they'd be climbing in a fucking hole in the wall if the state of this building was anything to go on. After a few minutes of searching, Mark announced he'd found a door and the rest of the Rogues quickly congregated on his location.

Unlocking the door and inching their way into the warehouse, the 5 Rogues all remained in a tight huddle as they found themselves plunged into the absolute darkness of the warehouse's interior. Each Rogue had their respective weapons in hand as they all glanced around the room nervously. They'd done stuff like this a million times before, but this was Gotham City after all and nothing was ever as it seemed here. They continued on into the absolute darkness for a few more moments before they turned a corner, finding themselves in a much larger section of the building and facing a bright light in the distance. Before them was a single workbench covered in various tools and what seemed like lashings of blood. At the bench sat one absolutely massive hulking figure facing away from them. The figure never moved, it seems they remained unnoticed for now at least. The figure had stark and matted red hair and was wearing what looked like a skin-tight purple dress. On it's arms seemed to be long clear gloves that covered up to its elbows. The thing was also wearing knee-high spotless white socks and a pair of black scuff-free tap-shoes. The figure's breathing was heavy and labored sounding, although their body hardly seemed to move with each painful sounding inhale and exhale the mass took. The 5 Rogues remained frozen in the spot, eyeing up the figure facing away from them with an undeniable feeling of absolute terror filling the air around them. If this place really did hold the answer's they were looking for, Cold couldn't help but feel that they wouldn't like what aforementioned answers were.  
"__Hi. Were looking for someone. Maybe you could help?"__ Cold said in a level a tone as he could manage, slowly beginning to tread closer and closer to the figure at the workbench. At the workbench, the figure suddenly stopped breathing and remained deadly silent.  
__"We're looking for a friend of ours. We uh, we heard he was here. Rathaway. Harley Rathaway? You heard of him?__" Cold continued, now only a few feet away from the still eerily silent mass hunched over the blood-soaked workbench. The thing hadn't breathed in what seemed like an eternity and Cold had quickly found his steely demeanor tossed asunder the closer he got to the faceless figure. Now stood directly behind the creature, Cold hesitantly reached forward and placed a hand on the shoulder of the monstrous shape before him, although in a few short seconds time Cold would truly wished he hadn't. The second his hand touched the creature, it spun around in it's seat and howled wildly at him in what sounded like extreme agony. The beast in the seat was horrifying, it's face resembled that of a rubber doll mask and judging from the massive fresh looking circular third-degree burn around the whole things face, chances are it was a mask that had been burned onto it's flesh at some point. Letting out a horrified sounding gasp, Cold began stumbling backward and towards the rest of the Rouges but stopped dead in his tracks as he felt the sharp unmistakable feeling of a needle being jammed into his neck and his system being pumped full of something as his mystery attacker emptied the contents of the syringe into his neck. Cold tried to spin around to see who had managed to get the drop on him but before he even got a good look Cold's vision became blurry and he felt his body collapse underneath him, falling to the floor with a deafening thud.

* * *

Waking up what seemed like hours later, Cold coughed and spluttered as he attempted to get his bearings back. Glancing around the room with trepidation, Cold let out a silent moan as he realized he seemed to be in some sort of makeshift operating theater. The walls were absolutely filthy and the unmistakable metallic-like stench of blood hung oppressively in the air around him. Already off to a bad start. Instantly recognizing that he had been stripped down and was in nothing but his underwear, Cold shifted uncomfortably and found that he was also strapped down onto what felt like a smooth metal table with roped tied tightly around his wrists and ankles. Either Mick had gotten a little too kinky again or things were about to turn into a really low-rent 'Rob Zombie' movie. Around him lay his 4 companions who also seemed to be in the same predicament, namely that they were also wildly disorientated and all tied down to their own metal tables in nothing but their underwear. Cold was in the dead center of the room, with Mick and Lisa tied down to his left and Mark and Axel tied down to his right. Across the room and besides the door in and out of the operating theater sat the hulking doll-faced creature, staring right past them and at the wall with dead eyes and droll dripping carelessly from its open mouth, a small puddle of thick saliva forming on the creatures tight fabric dress.

Outside, footsteps could be heard drawing closer and closer to the door. Cold could already tell this wasn't going to be good. The footsteps stopped right outside and then there was silence. The 5 rogues all looked at each other curiously before jumping with fright when the door was kicked open, with two more identical doll-faced creatures trundling into the room followed closely by who Cold could only assume was the man in charge. The man was oddly unremarkable looking to be honest. He was a somewhat short, overweight man with greasy skin and slicked back dark brown hair. He was wearing a thick glossy looking butchers apron, a stainless white shirt and a red bow-tie. More importantly however, on his head the wore a flesh-coloured pig mask with sinister looking white-out lenses over the eyes. This man hadn't been on the scene in Gotham City for long but Cold had heard whispers about him. The man currently holding them hostage was none other than Professor Pyg and if the stories Cold had heard about him were true then he needed to get his Rogues out of here as quickly as possible.

"__Well, what do we have here? A full house you say? That's good. My babies know first hand i always last much longer when i have an audience...__" Pyg slathered as he ran his tongue around his already dangerously chapped lips.  
"__Right, so what're y'all booked in for then? Little tummy-tuck? Rhinoplasty? Cosmetic amputation? That's a personal favourite of mine...__" Pyg muttered aloud as he withdrew a scalpel from his apron pocket and began spinning it around in his fingers.  
On their separate tables, the 5 tied up Rogues began struggling. Pyg however never seemed to notice, or maybe he just didn't care. At his table Mark tensed his fists and tried desperately to summon anything that might help them escape their captor, but his body was still feeling the affects of whatever the masked man had drugged them with so all his attempts were fruitless. On Cold's other side and just past Mick, Lisa too began trying to free herself from her bonds, her entire body wriggling about as she tried to shake herself free but much like the weather-controlling man tied down across the room all her attempts seemed to be completely in vain.  
"__Not huge on conversation eh? Can't say i blame you, i'd be starstruck too if i were stood gazing upon the perfect specimen.__" Pyg hissed as he rubbed his both hands over his chest suggestively, failing to notice he was slicing himself up with the scalpel as he did so. Mick winced aloud on his table at the sight and decided enough was enough. Letting out a deep groan, Mick tensed his entire body all over and tried his best to literally tear the ropes apart, turning a deep shade of scarlet as he did so, but much like Mark and Lisa's attempts before him it didn't seem to be getting him anywhere. As the 5 Rogues continued to struggle away, the tension in the air continued to build to an almost unbearable level and it was safe to say panic was quickly setting in.

While they struggled away, Pyg continued rambling away to himself, his arms waving around wildly in the air as he skulked around the room and eyed up his potential victims. Letting out a single obnoxiously loud oink, Pyg looked towards the 3 doll-faced henchmen and waved dismissively at them, the creatures rising from their stations without a sound and lumbered out the room and back into the pitch-black hallway, leaving Pyg alone with his hostages. The overweight man choked out another oink and began to rub his hands together devilishly.  
"__So, have you decided what you're looking to get yet? I've always been fond of the good old fashioned 'Snip and Slice' you know."__ Pyg snarled as he walked up to Cold and placed his strangely slimy gloved hands on Cold's bare leg. Pyg began whistle to himself as he delicately began to rub his hands up Cold's leg, continuing upwards and only stopping when he reached the helm at the bottom of the leg of Cold's boxer shorts. "__Little snip here, slice down there. Basically cut away everything... vulgar.__"  
"__I swear to fuck if you don't get your chubby paws off his fuckin' leg THIS INSTANT I'M GONNA EN...__" Mick started, but was quickly silenced when Pyg suddenly swung his hand over and backhanded Mick right across with face with incredible force.  
"__DIDN'T YOU SEE THE SIGN? PATIENTS WILL TREAT ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF WITH RESPECT!__" Pyg screamed wildly as he lunged over towards Mick, making sure their faces were mere inches apart while Pyg launched into a foul-mouthed tirade at the tied-down male, spit flying from the masked man's mouth as he bellowed and landing all over Mick's face. Across the other side of the room, Pyg was far to wrapped up in his meltdown and hadn't seemed to notice that Axel had begun carefully managing to slip free from the ropes that were securing him to the table.

After a few more moments of staring Mick down and screaming obscenities at him, Pyg straightened his back and began to steady his breathing before freezing up completely. Pyg's jaw hung slack and the fresh wounds from the scalpel littered all over his chest continued to ooze blood down over his once clean shirt. Pyg remained stuck on the spot almost as if he had short-circuited before his entire body shook violently and a manic looking grimace found it's way onto his face.  
"__Since it seems none of you are overly chatty, why doesn't Daddy Pyg just decide what his baby's want?"__ The madman snarled as he stepped back away from his 5 captors and began rummaging about inside one of the filthy looking cupboards before him. Back at his table, Axel only just managed to hold back a victorious cheer as his left hand finally slipped free from the ropes.  
"__I'm not going to lie, I've thought a lot about what i was going to do with you all. So many options and such little time. There comes a time that all men must choose you know. A collection of such clean, untouched palettes deserve only the finest attention to detail, one my nimble digits can do with both elegance and grace. You're all so lucky..."__ Pyg muttered as he withdrew a heavy sounding object and slammed it down onto the counter before him, the entire metal frame of the shelving unit rattling when the item was thrust down on it. Pyg whispered something inaudible to himself and closed the cupboard over again. Back at the table, Axel had managed to free his other hand and was now working on getting his legs loose too.  
"__That's not to say you're not beautiful already. I mean, you're not quite the Adonis i am, but then again very few are. Don't worry my babies. You've all got such silky skin and tight, firm bodies...__" Pyg mumbled as he took the item from the shelving before him and turned around to face his prisoners. On Pyg's face was a wild psychotic grimace and in his hands was a large rusty concrete saw. Pyg oinked as he took a single step towards Rogues, the saw's blade letting out a bone-chilling buzzing noise as it began to spin.  
"__But i'm going to make you beautiful...__"

Before Pyg had the chance to make good on his countless terrifying promises, Axel roared aloud and jumped up across the room, a dirty metal food tray in hand, and smashed the tray hard into the side of Pygs head. The fatter man shrieked aloud before the impact and then grunted as he doubled over onto the floor. Pyg landed hard on the tiles below and groaned in pain, the cut on the side of his head already starting to leak blood down onto his face. The concrete saw still firmly in his hands began tearing through the tiling below, letting loose a deafening shrieking noise as it sliced away. Wasting no time, Axel ran back over to Mark and began untying him.  
"__Babe! That was just, wow! That was amazing__!" Mark cheered as Axel struggled with the tighter knots keeping the tall male secured in place.  
"__Keep the compliments to yourselves until were out of here for Christ sake!__" Cold barked at the two males anxiously. "__Were not in the clear yet__!"  
"__HE'S RIGHT YOU KNOW__!" Screamed Pyg as he arose from the floor and swung the concrete saw in Axel's general direction. Axel did his best to maneuver backwards and was mostly successful, however the tip of the saw managed to catch the end of the younger males skin and left a deep and garish looking gash across his chest. Axel howled in agony and threw himself back, out of Pyg's reach and stopping only when he found himself backed up into one of the dirty looking cabinets that lined the walls. Axel winced aloud as he placed a shajy hand up and over a section of the wide gash, blood spilling from the split open skin and covering his still bare chest.  
"__What're you doing out of bed? Doctors orders clearly state that bed-rest is a must before your craniotomy!__" Pyg slurred as he sprinted across the room after the smaller male. Axel's eyes widened and he lurched forward, sliding underneath both Mark and his own empty gurneys and narrowly avoiding a collision with Pyg's saw. Seeing the ongoing madness, Cold looked towards Axel and nodded frantically towards the door.  
"__RUN AXEL! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!__" Cold yelled. Axel didn't even look in Cold's direction as he took off towards the doors and burst through them, sprinting into the pitch-black hallway and into the unknown. Across at the empty gurney Pyg threw his head back and screamed in anger. The buzzing saw still firmly in his hands continued to emit that horrible echoing screech as Pyg took off flying towards the door and after Axel. Before he left however, Pyg turned to the 4 remaining captives and for a brief moment seemed to retain some level of composure.  
"__Slight change of schedule my darlings. Daddy's got to make a housecall!__" Pyg sneered as he once again flew into a violent rage, barreling out of the operating theater and into the hallway after his prey.

* * *

Pyg sniffed and snorted as he stalked around the upper levels of his warehouse, weaving effortlessly between the countless rows of shelving and lockers. The Concrete-Saw still in his hands continued to spin away as he carefully inched around every nook and cranny of the warehouse, looking for any sign of his escaped patient.

"__Why do you flee my sweet? Don't you know that i'm here to take care of you?__" Pyg said soothingly as he turned the corner and began making his way down another isle.  
"__That's what i'm being paid to do you know. To take care of you i mean. To keep you satisfied...__" The masked man's cooed and stilled himself completely for a moment, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly as if to try and focus his hearing. A deadly silence radiated around him, but somewhere across the room Pyg heard a slight clattering noise. The Pig-Masked man squealed and gripped the saw tighter in his meaty hands as he immediately took off toward the sound.

Way across the other side of the empty room, Axel cursed under his breath and dragged himself from one dark corner to another as he heard the psychotic professor drawing nearer and nearer to his location. Even though the wound on his chest was really just a deeper-than-usual surface wound it ached like Axel couldn't even begin to describe. Right now all Axel wanted to do was to burst into tears and feel sorry for himself and the aching cut burning viciously across his abdomen, but he had no time for feeling sorry for himself, Axel had to take this creep out and save his friends. First thing's first, Axel had to find something to cover the wound, mainly to try and dull the pain but also because if it continued bleeding like it was he'd either pass out or the blood trail Axel was continually dotting behind him would lead Pyg straight to him. God, Axel wished he wasn't in just his underwear for this. Scanning the surrounding area for anything he could use, Axel picked up a small brick fragment and tossed it up and over several lines of units, the rock hitting off a surface in the distance with a loud clatter. Axel instinctively held his breath and listened to Pyg squeal excitedly and scutter off away from him after the source of the noise. Carefully making his way across several more isles and towards the furthest away wall from Pyg, Axel began silently searching through the drawers and cupboards that lined the isle, hoping to find anything that could help him. His search was successful, as eventually Axel managed to find both a large relatively clean rag and a rather conveniently placed silver metal baseball bat. They'd need to do. Successfully managing to wrap the wound on his chest up tight, Axel sucked in a labored sounding breath and gripped the bat in his hands. If this freak wanted to play 'Hide and Seek' then Axel would happily oblige.

Pyg continued to mutter away to himself as he made his way along the top row of the isles, stalking up and down the walkway and glancing down each one of the isles to see if he could see any sign of his missing plaything. It didn't happen often, but every once in a while one of Pyg's little patients did get lost. Usually Pyg would find them and give them a good hard spanking for running off. Other times they'd be lost forever, if the countless bodies being weighed down at the bottom of the Gotham Harbor was anything to show for it. This specimen however was special, and was one Pyg was determined to find regardless of how difficult the search was. This little beauty was part of a set, a very special set still currently tied up in the operating theater awaiting their wonderful host to get back to them and make them all as unique and beautiful as they possibly could be. Pyg wouldn't let them down, he couldn't! He was a professional above everything else, and his patients care was his number one priority. Gripping the concrete saw like it was part of his being, Pyg let out a high-pitched oink when he spotted a thin blotted trail of blood down one of the isles. Bingo.

"__Darling! You can't hide from me...__" Pyg exclaimed, steadily making his way down into the isle and towards the trail of blood that seemed to end outside one of the lockers towards the end of the isle.  
"__Did you know that Pig's are sometimes used to look for Truffles? Yes indeedy-doo you bet your firm little tooshy they are. Little bastards can smell those hidden bundles of joy from miles off...__" Pyg started as he drew closer and closer towards the locker in question, the spinning saw in his hands still screeching wildly with each and every rotation.  
"__I, my sweet, am no exception. I too can smell your sinful little truffle and let me tell you, it smells moist and delicious...__" Pyg wheezed, now standing right outside the locker where the trail of blood seemed to draw to an end. Licking his lips once over, Pyg reached forward and gripped the handle of the locker with his eyes sealed tight and a menacing smirk on his face. This was going to be wonderful. Roaring like a wild animal as he swung the door to the locker open, Pyg began cackling maniacally as he swung the saw into the locker, spitting everywhere as he did so. Pyg however did not hear the delightful sound of his saw ripping through flesh and bone as it flounced around in the locker, in fact he didn't hear anything. Opening his eyes once more, Pyg peered into the locker and looked absolutely perplexed when he noticed it was completely empty. Pyg seemed to be so caught up in the moment that he failed to hear the locker directly behind him creaking open and Axel stepping out into the light, the baseball bat held firmly in his hands.  
"__Strange, my sniffer's never been wrong about a truffle before...__"

"__Yo asshole__!" Axel screamed from behind the masked man. Oinking aloud and spinning on the spot, Pyg turned to face his now located plaything and went to say something but was cut short when Axel swung the baseball bat forward, smashing the end of the weapon right into Pyg's face with all the strength he had left in him. Pyg let out a wounded sounded grunt and stumbled backward, his hands loosing their grip on the concrete-saw as it felt to the floor with a thump. Before the stunned psychopath even had a chance to react, Axel swung the bat forward again and connected it with the other side of Pyg head. The hulking menace before Axel let out another painful grunt and fell backward into the open locker. Not even giving Pyg a second to think, Axel rushed forward and smashed the baseball bat down onto Pyg's head once again, the third and final blow successfully knocking the masked man unconscious as his body instantly went limp and flopped down to the bottom of the locker with a defeated sounding thud. The wound on top of Pyg's head seeped a thick almost black coloured blood down onto his fleshy mask, but his breathing remained a constant. Axel looked down onto the now unconscious beast laying in the locker with a smirk on his face and pride visible in his eyes.  
"B__OOM! DROP THE MIC! Game-Set and MATCH ya dick__!" Axel cheered with an exhaused sigh as dropped the bat to the floor and spat on the creature laying loose in the locker. Placing a hand back onto the wrap-covered wound on his chest, Axel spun on his heels and started making his way back towards his friends in the lower levels of the warehouse.

* * *

Around 20 minutes later, the 5 Rogues made their way up and out of the Operating Theater and into the row of isles where Pyg and Axel had played their twisted version of hide and seek. By now all the Rogues were fully dressed and for the most part where in once piece. As per usual Cold led the pack with Lisa and Mick following close behind him with their trademark weapons held firmly in hand in case of any last minute surprises from either Pyg or one of his countless identical Dollotrons. Behind them were Mark and Axel, walking hand in hand and talking among themselves as they followed the three in front of them.  
"__You sure you don't want a piggy back or something? You shouldn't be walking after all that."__ Mark said with worry written all over his face. Axel chuckled at the sight and got up on his tip-toes and kissed the taller male on the cheek.  
"__Your worrying is cute and all, but i'm fine babe. Don't worry about it. I kicked some serious ass tonight!__" Axel announced as he pumped his free hand into the air, seemingly forgetting about the massive gash across his chest and wincing out loud as a result.  
"__Oh i don't doubt it, but you might want to take it easy there tiger. At least for a little while 'til we get you patched up.__" Mark said softly, giving Axel's hand a small reassuring squeeze as he did so.  
"__Ha! You think i'm in rough shape just wait 'til you see the other guy. That little Piggy went straight to the hospital, never mind all the way home. Now hurry up, i need to get a snapchat of my handiwork!__" Axel said proudly as he quickly increased his walking pace in an attempt to catch up with the others, dragging a laughing Mark along behind him.

At the front of the pack Cold, Mick and Lisa stood at the bottom of the isle where Axel and Pyg had their standoff with confused looks on their faces. The locker where Axel had finally put a stop to Pyg's rampage was vacant and the mad professor was nowhere to be seen, although the madman's concrete-saw, a blood-soaked baseball bat and Pig mask were all littered around the eerily silent isle letting them know that Pyg was here at some point, but by now was probably long gone.  
"__Ah shit, that ain't good.__" Mick said with a hint of trepidation in his voice.  
"__You can say that again. Axel really did a number on Dr Swine, or whatever his name was.__" Lisa giggled in reply.  
"__Pyg. Professor Pyg. And lets not let our guard down just yet. His head may be hanging wide open but this guy is clearly on enough pills to take down an small army, so chances are he's up and around here somewhere. Stay alert. Fingers on triggers.__" Cold chimed in resolutely, taking off away from the battleground and towards the main-hall they entered through. Mick and Lisa however stayed firmly put in place, continuing to stare down into the isle drenched in blood.  
"__Fucking hell, this is like looking at a scene from a fucking 'Saw' sequel or some shit.__" Mick said  
"__You're not kidding. Sure glad i'm not the squeamish sort.__" Lisa replied.  
Both Mick and Lisa continued to stare down into the isle with unreadable looks on their face, although if one had to describe the look it would be one of disgust. A few moments later Mark and Axel finally caught up with them.  
"__What? He's gone? Really?__" Axel puffed, sounding defeated as he rested his head against Marks arm, slipping his phone back into his jacket pocket since he clearly wasn't going to get a picture of all his good work.  
"__Afraid so. Looks like you really beat seven shades of shit out of him though Axel.__" Lisa said as she lightly punched Axel's forearm.  
"__You're telling me. If i wasn't so sure his head was full of tapioca before i beat him upside the head with a bat then i'd swear that big red mark to the left there was part of his brain...__" Axel snickered while he gestured towards an oddly lumpy red smear located near the abandoned pig mask.  
While the 4 Rogues all continued to survey the battlefield lain out before them, none of them seemed to noticed that across the other end of the room the backdoor to the warehouse was carefully being pushed open while a somehow conscious Professor Pyg - currently being propped up by two of the hulking beasts he called his 'Dollotrons' - sneaked outside and towards a boat parked down on the dockside.

* * *

While his companions all continued to survey the isles back in the side room of the warehouse, Cold took it upon himself to try and figure out exactly what was happening in this godforsaken city. Making his way further into the now completely abandoned warehouse, Cold sighed as he found his himself back in the room where the Rogues had first encountered the beasts known as the Dollotrons. With morning now beginning to break outside, the room which was once pitch black was slowly beginning to fill with light. Cold reached up and rubbed the still sore needle injection point on his neck as he took in the view. The entire room was absolutely filthy. Countless rusty medical supplies lay scattered around the room and blood seemed to have soaked a good majority of the room. Cold couldn't be sure, but it almost looked like there was a small pile of bones tucked away neatly in the corner underneath a black metal staircase with a door at the top. Cold would have to remember and get a blood test when he got back to Central City. God knows what could have been on that needle.  
"__Fucking hell... what a mess.__" Cold muttered to himself as he continued on through the room and towards the set of stairs, making his way up them and through the door into what Cold would guess was going to be the main office of the desolate warehouse.

And Cold was right, this was almost certainly the managers office. Compared to the room just down that flight of stairs, the office was in surprisingly good nick. If Cold hadn't just walked through the war-zone in last room then this little office might have seemed oddly comfortable. The room was lined with several hanging shelves that were all neatly stacked with countless ledgers and files. A few grey filing cabinets were pressed up against the wall next to the door and locked shut by tiny padlocks. Along the furthest away wall was a long desk with what appeared to be some blueprints on it as well as an ancient looking computer. More importantly, behind the desk was an absolutely massive window, which upon further inspection looked down onto the stock area of the warehouse where Axel had faced off against Pyg. As he peered out of the window and onto the room below Cold instantly spotted the 4 other Rogues all wandering around and chatting among themselves. So much for remaining on guard. Turning his attention away from the window and back to the desk, Cold huffed to himself and began lazily flicking through the papers scattered around the desk. Nothing worth noting really, just a bunch of blueprints for what seemed to be an expansion to the east end of the now dilapidated warehouse and some other random printed emails and such. Just as he was about to give up his search and try something else, Cold spotted what looked like an cheque poking out from underneath the dusty keyboard.  
"__Well well well, what do we have here...__" Cold said as he reached over across the disk and slipped the cheque out from under the keyboard and towards his face for closer inspection.

The check was addressed to a Mr L. Valentin and was for the amount of 10 million dollars for what was written down as 'Mr. Valentin's Specialist Expertise + good's &amp; services'. Cold screwed his face up at that last part, someone had actually been paying that psychopath to capture innocent people and make them into those disgusting abominations the mad doctor had named 'Dollotrons'. For the briefest moment Cold felt genuinely sick to his stomach, but he inhaled deeply and successfully managed to push those feelings to the wayside. Cold looked towards the bottom of the check and noticed who the check was from. In the right hand corner of the cheque was a posh looking signature from a Ms. Kelly Li, on behalf of one Sionis Industries.

* * *

On the top floor of the main Sionis Industries building in the middle of Gotham City's busy business district, Kelly Li was currently sitting at her desk with a phone pressed to her ear and an indifferent look on her face. She drummed her fingers along the desk in a rhythmic fashion as she listened to the inane rambling's coming from the other end of the land-line. Kelly really wasn't paid anywhere near enough to deal with this nonsense.  
"__Yes... uh-huh... yes... well, i'll let him know. Have a good night Mr. Valentin.__" Li said with an icy tone as she placed the phone down back onto the receiver. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Carefully pushing her chair backwards and away from her desk, Ms Li began walking towards the gigantic doors that lead into her employers office. Roman wasn't going to like this, but then again ever since he had started this damn turf war with that awful clown Roman really didn't like much of anything anymore. Raising her hand into the air, Kelly knocked on the door three times in quick succession and awaited a reply.

A few moments passed before the doors in front of her slowly creaked open. Stepping into the office and looking towards the two burly bouncers with a respectful nod, Kelly wasted no time in quickly beginning to make her way up along the over sized office and towards the equally large desk sitting up the back of the room. Behind the desk the back wall seemed to have been replaced by a gigantic window that looked out over the city as daybreak continued to shine down upon it and fill it with an inescapable and penetrating light. As she drew nearer to the desk, Kelly slowed her pace right down before completely coming to a halt just a few feet away from her goal. Ms Li narrowed her eyes and began dusting herself down on the spot before she turned her attention off her clothes and back towards the man sitting at the desk, or more accurately the back of his chair.  
"__Good evening sir. I trust you're doing well?__" Kelly said.  
"__Cut the shit and just tell me what happened with Pyg already Ms Li. I ain't in the mood for games.__" the man in the chair said in a gravelly voice as he continued to look out of the gigantic window laid out before hm. A single puff of cigar smoke could be seen floating upwards from behind the chair and dissipating into the air the higher it got from the ground.  
"__There's no need for that language Mr. Sionis, but yes, i'll get to the point. I've just gotten off the phone with Mr. Valentin and thing's aren't good. Seems something happened down at the docks which interrupted his operations, as a result your final shipment is going to be late.__" Li said as she placed her right hand up onto her hip and stared towards the back of the chair with an indifferent look on his face.  
"__Interrupted? Let me guess, The Bat? Or was it Batwoman? Nightwing? Spoiler maybe?__" snarled the man with venom dripping from his tone while another cloud of smoke rose from behind the chair.  
"__Apparently not. He was a little more... disorientated than usual when he called, but according to Mr. Valentine it was a group of 5 'naughty patients' that somehow managed to escape and, from the sounds of things, beat him within an inch of his life while doing so."__  
At the other side of the chair, the man stopped completely for what seemed like forever. Kelly shifted on the spot and tried not to look uncomfortable. Eventually another cloud of thick grey smoke rose from behind the chase and the cigar was tossed through the air and onto the marble flooring of his lavish office.  
"__Patients escaped? That's interesting. Pyg give you any indication he knew who these assholes were?"__ The man said in a deadpan tone.  
__"Sir, Mr. Valentin couldn't even remember what his actual name when he phoned, there was no way he was going to remember who jumped him. If you'd just told him to stop testing the product on himself then chances are tha..."__ Kelly started before the voice behind the chair cut her off her.  
__"Ms. Li, if i wanted your fuckin' opinion then i'd ask for it. Now piss off back to your desk and let me think."__ The man spat viciously as without another sound Ms Li turned herself around and quickly exited her boss's office.

Finding himself alone at last, The man in the chair coughed painfully as he slowly rose from his chair and walked forward, stopping when he was standing right up against the window. The mystery man was dressed head to toe in a trim, well fitted black pinstripe suit and a perfect white shirt. A blood red tie added a pop of colour to the outfit. On his feet were a pair of expensive looking black dress shoes. More importantly however was what was on his head, as covering every inch of skin from the neck up was a pitch-black and skintight metal mask, shaped and painted to look exactly like a garish, terrifying skull with only his dark brown eyes visible from beneath the darkness the mask radiated. Looking out onto the city with his fists balled and his eyes wide and menacing looking, the Black Mask leaned forward and rested his forehead against the icy cold window. Beneath the mask, Roman snickered and placed a hand into the pocket of his fine pressed suit.  
_"Some newcomers eh? Now this ought to be interesting._"


	7. The One Where They Get In Too Deep

Cold had been doing this for almost 20 years. 'This' of course meant leading a colourful and mostly successful life of crime. Cold had robbed banks, he'd committed grand theft auto, he'd stolen military secrets, and hell, not two months ago he had went toe-to-toe with a giant telepathic Gorilla and lived to tell the tale for Christ sake. Cold was a seasoned veteran of this type of lifestyle and was damn proud of it, but as he sat in the passenger seat of the van being driven towards the dead center of Gotham City, Captain Cold couldn't help but feel he was about to do something he was going to really really REALLY regret. Normally for a task like this Cold would have went and dealt with it himself and that was exactly what he intended to do. Leaving the rest of the Rogues sleeping in the motel room after last nights nightmare, Cold tried his best to sneak out but was stopped by Mark. The instant Mark had heard that Cold was away to deal with the person responsible for nearly killing Axel the night before then Cold couldn't have stopped his weather-controlling companion tagging along on this little suicide mission if he tried. Mark's stubbornness was as admirable as it was irritating.

After the previous nights run in with Professor Pyg had actually proven much more useful than initially thought, Cold and the rest of the Rogues had left the madman's warehouse with all their limbs still attached, a few mental scars they'd be sure to come to terms with after some intense therapy and, much to Cold's surprise, an actual lead which Cold had hoped would actually be of some use to the Rogues in their search to find Hartley. This lead was of course the Cheque that he'd found hidden away in the managers office, a cheque addressed to Pyg himself by a man that Cold was more than familiar with. The man in question was none other than Roman Sionis, better known around the world by his well known and much feared alias, The Black Mask. It had been a good few years since Cold and Roman had last worked together, but from what he could remember things had gone well enough. Roman had needed some unruly underlings to have the fear of god put in them and after enough money was thrown in their general direction both Cold and Mick were more than happy to help. Easy enough, or so Cold had thought. Even though things had went well last time, from what Cold remembered Roman had an famously short fuse and some serious impulse control problems which made what Cold was about to do all the more nerve wracking.

Almost as if he could sense the feeling of dread radiating off the other male, Mark turned his head towards Cold and nudged him in the sides sharply, getting a dry look from Cold in response.  
"__What was that for?__" Cold snapped in a harsher sounding tone than originally intended.  
"__You looked too somber, like you were posing for a Taylor Swift album cover or something. Thought i'd help snap you out of it.__" Mark chuckled as he slowed the van down before coming to a complete halt at a red light.  
"__Your concern is appreciated, but i'm fine.__" Cold said back, not sounding as sure in himself as he would have liked. Next to him Mark gave him a curious look before rolling his eyes. Above them the traffic light turned Green once again and Mark lightly pressed down on the acceleration.  
"__Really? 'Cause you don't look it Len__." Mark stated matter-of-factly as he continued to steer the van forward and through the busy evening traffic.  
"__You tell anyone this and i'll kill you, but i'm... pretty concerned about how this is gonna go.__" Cold admitted.  
"__Why's that? Don't you know Roman?__" Mark asked as he kept his eyes trained on the road, weaving between the cars as he continued to push through the blockade and onward along the road.  
"__Yeah, i've worked with him a few times before, but still. Roman's well known for having a spectacularly sadistic streak, he didn't get to the top of the Gotham Crime Syndicate for nothing you know."__ Cold confessed with an exhausted sounding grunt. Showing emotion really wasn't Cold's forte. It was silly, but Cold always felt that showing emotion was the same as showing weakness. The business he and the rest of his Rogues were in was cut-throat to say the very least. Everything had to be precise, there was no room for error and emotions just made those little tidbits of weakness all that much easier to spot. Covering his face with both hands, Cold puffed silently into his them and tried his best to silence any feelings of uneasiness he felt rumbling away deep in his bones. Considering what he and Mark were about to do, showing any signs of weakness was a definite no-no.  
"__Well, you've yet to steer us wrong Len, so i trust you. You'll keep us right."__ Mark said as he flashed the parka-wearing male next to him a genuine smile. Cold would never admit it, but that little compliment had actually meant a lot. God he was getting soft. Taking his hands off his face before he folded his arms across his chest, Cold couldn't hide the pleased looking smirk that found itself cemented onto his face or the rosy tint's that had begun to appear on his cheeks.  
__"Shut the fuck up and keep eyes on the road Mardon"__ Cold chuckled and nodded towards the wide expanse of road laid before them.

__"Of course Mr. Snart."__ Mark snickered back as he focused his attention back onto the road.

* * *

"__You remember the plan?__" Cold said as both he and Mark stood motionless inside the elevator that was quickly taking them up from the lobby of Sionis Industries to the very top floor and more important, Black Mask's office. Mark looked towards Cold then back towards the doors in front of him while nodding somewhat absently. Cold knew fine well that his own body language was reading as 'tense', but Marks read more as angry. They couldn't afford to go head to head with Roman if one of them was already simmering with rage, it gave him the upper hand. Considering Roman already had the home field advantage they couldn't afford to be giving him anything else to use against them. Reaching across and placing a hand gently on Marks forearm, Cold gave the other males arm a light shake and looked up at Mark with a lopsided reassuring smile.  
"__Mark, i said do you remember the plan?__" Cold repeated firmly.  
"__Yeah. I gotta stay calm. I'm your eyes and ears while you hash it out with Roman. Any sign of trouble i get us out of there without a seconds hesitation. Don't worry Len, i got it."__ Mark replied with a less than reassuring smile.  
__"You say that now, but you look like you're gonna go off the second you even catch sight of Roman. I need you to stay calm Mark. He's got the upper-hand here, let's not give him another one. Okay?"__ Cold said as the elevator came to a complete hault. __"You can do this Mark. I trust you."__

Almost like clockwork the doors of the elevator opened the second Cold stopped speaking. Both males instinctively straightened their backs out and tried their very best to adopt a 'calm and collected' look and attitude, because while they certainly didn't feel the part they could at least try and look it. Standing not two feet away from the opened door was Kelly Li, Roman's personal assistant. Kelly looked towards Mark with complete indifference but somehow managed to greet Cold a second later with a wide smile on her face. Taking a small step forward closer to the two Rogues, Kelly held her hand out towards Cold.  
__"Leonard, it's nice to see you again."__ Li said warmly as Cold took her hand and shook it.  
__"Likewise Kelly, you're looking great."__ Cold replied with a smile before withdrawing his hand from the woman's.  
__"Same to you. How's Mick? You two still together, or is it complicated?"__ Li asked with a mischievous looking smirk.  
__"The latter i'm afraid. Same old same old. Oh, this is Mark by the way. Mark Mardon."__ Cold said as he gestured towards the taller male to his right. Kelly turned towards Mark and gave him a disinterested glance.  
"__Pleasure."__ She said in a level tone before turning her attention back towards Cold. "I'll admit i was surprised you called. Roman hasn't been taking visitors ever since his little turf war began a few weeks ago but when he heard it was you he made an exception. Lucky for you two he's in a relatively good mood today." Kelly remarked as she turned away from the two men and began making her way back over to her desk.  
__"Anyway, Roman's in the next room. He's been waiting so just head right on in."__ muttered the woman as she took a seat back at her desk and began tinkering away with the computer before her.  
__"Thanks Kelly."__ Cold added with a smirk as both he and Mark started forward towards the set of doors that lead into Roman's personal office. Well, here goes nothing.

* * *

Back down on the ground floor of the Sionis Industries building, the three other Rogues walked through the front doors of the plaza and right into the crowded lobby. They weren't 100% sure what exactly Cold was doing here since he and Mark had snuck out of the motel earlier that evening apparently didn't feel the need to mention why or where they were going, but if their limited time in Gotham City had taught them anything it was that this city was swimming with danger. Lisa, who had instinctively taken on the role of 'Leader' in place of her absent older brother, continued on past the crowds of people around her and up towards the main reception area of the lobby, her body language exuding an undeniable confidence as she strode effortlessly through the faceless masses surrounding her and towards the dead centre of the room. Following closely behind her were Mick and Axel, who despite their attempt to the contrary couldn't have looked more suspicious if they had tried.  
__"Okay people, you know the drill. Let's get to it."__ Lisa announced with a sneer as she paced back a few feet and linked arms with Mick. Looking back towards Axel and nodding without a word, Lisa and Mick continued on through the lobby and towards the reception desk somewhere in the distance among the crowd. Behind them Axel chuckled to himself and without a sound he dropped back and away from the other two Rogues before disappearing into the crowd.

Walking on past the reception desk and stopping a good 10 feet away, Lisa turned to Mick and looked up at him with an excited smile on her face as she tensed her fists. Mick looked down at his honorary baby sister and returned her smile with gusto. Unlike Lisa however, his entire upper body went loose.  
__"You ready Micky?__" Lisa said with excitement almost dripping from her tone.  
__"Yep, let it rip sis."__ Mick said as he placed both his hands on his hips and prepared for the worst.  
Launching into the first phase of her plan with ferocity, Lisa balled her fist and pulled it back behind her before she launched it forward and right into Mick's jaw with impressive force. Mick grunted aloud and stumbled back, his hands automatically springing up and onto his now aching mouth. In front of him, Lisa's eyes widened and she began to wave her arms around wildly in the air.  
__"CLETUS!"__ Lisa screamed with a thick, somewhat overdone yet surprisingly accurate southern accent. __"DON'T YOU FUCKIN' TOUCH ME CLETUS! I TOLD YOU WE WE'RE THROUGH!"__  
"__BITCH! YOU DON'T GET TO TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!"__ Bellowed Mick furiously as he launched himself forward and wrapped one of his large hands around Lisa's svelte wrist.  
__"CLETUS! DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU! YOU KNOW ME CLETUS, YOU KNOW ME! I'LL GET BUCKWILD WITHOUT EVEN THINKIN'!__" The brunette screamed as she violently tugged her hand back in an attempt to free herself from the bigger males grip.  
Around them, the crowd went completely silent and all eyes seemed to instantly train onto the two shouting individuals. In her peripheral vision Lisa noticed 2 security guards come bounding out of the security office and making a beeline in their general direction. What the guards never seemed to notice though was Axel sneaking past them and into the office the second the door was open, or the even more suspicious group of 12 ski-mask wearing men that walked through the entrance and into the lobby not 2 seconds later.

* * *

Cold bottom hasn't even touched the seat beneath him when the full weight of the situation he'd thrown both himself and Mark into hit him like a damn truck. After their encounter with Pyg last night had almost proven fatal, you would think that Cold would have been much more hesitant to put himself and the rest of his Rogues in the line of fire again, never mind throw them head first into it with reckless abandon. The more time Cold spent leading the Rogues the more apparent the reasons why the Rogues were known as an impulsive bunch became. Hindsight really was 20/20.

Across the table from them sat Roman Sionis, although considering the fact he was currently wearing his infamous namesake, Cold guessed that for the duration of this little meeting they'd be referring to him as his perhaps better known moniker, Black Mask. Dressed in a spotless white pinstripe suit with a black shirt and white tie, Roman stared the two men down with a piercing, unflinching gaze. Hanging in the 'mouth' section of Roman's sinister mask was a lit-cigar. Cold decided it best not to question the logistics of how Roman was able to smoke a cigar through the apparently solid metal mask.

__"So, how you been keeping Roman, or do you prefer 'Black Mask'?"__ Cold said plainly, leaning backwards in his seat.  
__"Mask will suffice. And i'm well. So, what can i do you for Lenny?"__ Roman said insidiously as he narrowed his eyes at the two gentlemen at the other end of the table.  
__"It's Captain Cold now, but you can just call me Cold. And i came to talk to you about your little operation on the docks.__" Cold replied confidently, managing to mask the anxiousness he felt wracking his body with relative ease.

Across the table from them, Cold could swear he saw Roman's eyes widen ever so slightly before beginning to narrow once more. Black Mask took a draw from his cigar and a cloud of thick grey smoke slipped through some minuscule gaps in the teeth of the mask and filled the air around the table with an inescapable stuffiness.

__"Exactly what about the docks you wanting to know 'Cold'?"__ Roman sneered, emphasizing Cold's title with an unmistakable arrogance that Cold knew all too well.  
__"You know exactly what i want to know. What exactly have you got Pyg doing down there?"__ Cold replied without missing a beat, refusing to react to Roman's pathetic goading.  
__"Ah, you want to know about Pyg! Take it that you were the assholes who gave him the run around last night? Do you know how difficult it is to deal with a manic psychotic even when his head isn't hanging open?"__ Roman spat, his eyes growing increasingly wild looking the longer this exchange went on.  
Next to Cold, Mark continued to stare down the masked figure before them while nudging Cold on the arm. Marks body looked unbelievably tense and Cold was almost 100% certain he could feel a slight breeze beginning to pick up around them in the spacious room. Cold looked to Mark and shook his head before turning his attention back to Roman. Mark nodded in reply and Cold could visibly see the taller male relax in his seat and the breeze instantly dissipate into nothingness. Across from them, Black Mask looked upon them both curiously as he rose to his feet and began pacing back and forward in front of the wide window that seemed to overlook the entire city.

__"For your information, Pyg's been working on making me a little army of those Doll-O-Tron abominations of his. I take it you've heard that i'm currently balls-deep in a turf war, yeah?"__ Black Mask said with a malicious sounding cackle as another puff of thick grey plumage escape from beneath the mask and filled the air around him.  
__"Ah! I figured you were one of the two currently duking it out for the heart and soul of Gotham City. You always did have a dramatic flare Mask."__Cold chimed in playfully, managing to elicit a throaty laugh from the Masked Male stalking up and down before them.  
__"You think i'm dramatic, have you seen the other guy? Purple suit and green hair. Fuckin' asshat..."__  
Both Cold and Mark's eyes widened and felt their stomachs drop when they heard Black Mask mutter that last part. Any attempt to hide their uneasiness was thrown to the wayside the second the Roman let slip who exactly he was currently dueling with for control of the city, or more importantly, the other person that Hartley had inadvertently fucked over while playing both sides of the war for his own personal gain. Cold could feel a single bead of sweat drip down his face.  
__"Green Hair? Purple Suit? You don't mean..."__ Cold started.  
"__Indeed i do."__ Black Mask interrupted. __"I'm currently fighting over this god forsaken city with none other than The Joker."__

In his seat, Cold shifted uncomfortably while Mark stared at him with his eyes wide and jaw hanging wide open.

Shit.

* * *

Back down in the lobby things had descended into absolute madness. A few seconds after Lisa and Mick had set their part of the plan into motion the group of masked men who had flown into the lobby swapped the jet-black Ski-Masks for ones much more well known and feared around Gotham City. Clown Masks. Like a well oiled machine the dozen clown masked men initiated their own plan. Withdrawing a wide variety of lethal looking firearms from their concealed holsters, the clown-masked men all shrieked and cackled like madman as without a moments hesitation they opened fire on the crowd, mowing down whatever unfortunate souls were unlucky enough to find themselves in the line of fire. As the crowd filling the Lobby quickly began to dwindle and more and more people fell prey to the shooters ruthless stream of bullets, both Lisa and Mick hit the floor with a grunt as they narrowly managed to avoid the hail of bullets that tore through the crowd and the approaching security guards behind them like a warm knife through butter.

At the other end of the lobby and sat inside the pitch black security room, Axel watched the madness just outside on the series of brightly lit monitors attached to the walls in front of him. The smaller male swallowed dryly and reached behind him, locking the door to the security office without taking his eyes off the monitors. Why is it everywhere they went as a group trouble seemed to follow? As much as he'd like to jump out and into the fray to give Mick and Lisa a hand, Axel had a job to do and god dammit he was going to get it done. Taking his phone and USB stick out of his jacket pocket, Axel whistled away to himself as he plugged the USB into the main console at his feet. The security screens in front of him all turned to static the instant the phone was connected to their servers and within moments the little sprite that looked like Axel's face in his 'Trickster' costume appeared on the screen and began effortlessly hacking into Sionis Industries main servers. Sometimes these fools just made it too damn easy.

* * *

__"The Joker? You're fighting over a block of land with The Joker? C'mon Roman, i knew you were impulsive but i didn't think you were suicidal.__" Cold said in a biting tone as he leaned forward in his chair like a cat getting ready to pounce.  
__"Thought i told you to call me 'Mask' Leonard. And i ain't the crazy one. That clown's not got a fuckin' clue who he's dealin' with!__" Roman spat back at the two males viciously, his eyes wide and penetrating beneath the pitch-black hue of his fearsome namesake.  
__"He's got no clue? YOU'RE DEALING WITH A PSYCHOTIC CLOWN WHO'S FAMOUSLY KILLED OVER 300 PEOPLE ROMAN!__" Cold screamed back at Black Mask as jumped up from his chair and stared down the other male.  
__"DOESN'T SEEM LIKE YOU'VE GOT A CLUE EITHER! YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LAST ASSHOLE WHO FUCKED WITH ME LENNY? LET'S JUST SAY WHEN JOKER GOT HIS HANDS ON MR RATHAWAY THERE WASN'T MUCH LEFT ON THE KID TO BREAK!"__ The Black Mask barked out a menacing sounding laugh as he continued to spew his vile threats. __"You heard that last part right by the way. That is why you're really here right? To chase up where your little friend is?"__

Upon hearing the last part, Cold saw red and snapped. Jumping up to his feet, Cold withdrew his Cold-Gun from the pouch on the inside of his jacket. Snarling like a wild animal as his eyes locked with the deep brown beady pair staring back at him from across the room, Cold pointed his weapon in The Black Mask's general direction with his index finger hovering dangerously over the trigger. Next to him, Mark had also jumped up and onto his feet, his hands tensed and his eyes began slowly turning a milky white colour as outside Cold acknowledged the wicked storm that was quickly brewing on the horizon and drawing closer to the Sionis Industries building by the second.  
__"I'm not fucking around Roman, where's Hartley?"__ Cold spoke in as commanding a tone as he could possibly muster given the circumstances. Across the room from the two Rogues Roman rolled his eyes and, in a speed much quicker than Cold remembered him being able to move at, withdrew duel pistols from each of the breast pockets on his fine suit and pointed one at each of his assailants. Cold couldn't be sure, but it looked as though beneath the Mask, Roman was grinning at them.  
__"Did i stutter? Joker has him. The second i found out that little shit was taking me for a ride I called up The Joker himself and let him know his little buddy was playing both sides of the team. You know as well as i do that Joker hates nothing more than a dirty little cheater."__ Black Mask said in a taunting tone as the doors leading into the office burst open and countless armed men wearing more basic version's of Roman's mask charged into the room, their weapons trained on Mark and Cold before they'd even come to a hault.  
__"Gentlemen, it's been fun catching up, it really has. But now i'm going to have to kill you. Y'know how it goes. Any last words?"__ Roman announced confidently as he and the other masked goons filling up the room kept their weapons aimed towards Cold and Mark's heads. Cold was right, this really was a shitty idea.

* * *

Lisa and Mick were completely silent as they lay motionless on the blood soaked marble beneath them. Besides the lucky few who had somehow actually managed to escape the Masked Men's brutal assault, every damn person in the lobby was dead after being completely obliterated by a hail of bullets. Across the room from them, the dozen masked men slipped their assorted weapons back into their hosters began pumping their fists up in the air while chanting the one word over and over again.  
__"JOKER! JOKER! JOKER!"__ the men cheered as they turned themselves around and began making their way through the bloodbath that was once the Lobby and towards the elevators at the other end of the room.

Inside the security office, the little Axel sprite continued to work away at completely copying and then destroying every piece of information Sionis Industries had to offer. Below the sprite the dark blue loading bar was almost full. Axel was still whistling away to himself and spinning around on the boring old office chair when he noticed in the squad of clowns making their way towards the elevators. Shit. After the slaughter of everyone in the lobby, Axel couldn't let those freaks loose on the rest of the building. Sure, Lisa and Mick had successfully survived the relentless barrage of bullets but who knows what would happen to Cold and Mark if the horde managed to get the drop on them. They thought of Mark in any danger made Axel feel sick to his stomach. Looking nervously back towards the little sprites loading bar, Axel just about jumped for joy when the loading bar filled all the way up and the screens returned to normal. Pulling himself back over to the keyboard, Axel kept his eyes locked on the once again Live camera screen before him and more importantly the masked men impatiently thumping on the buttons of the elevators. Axel had a plan, here's hoping that it would actually work.

Accessing the mainframe of Sionis Industries, Axel sent both elevators down and opened the doors to each of the elevators in unison. As expected the clown men divided themselves into two groups of six and piled into each elevator. Axel let out a tense sounding sigh, praying that his little last minute scheme would actually work. Sealing both doors shut, Axel pressed down on the keyboard once more and then allowed the elevators to head on up towards their intended destination. Axel focused in on the screens before him and watched in trepidation as the elevators quickly rose up and towards the top floor of Sionis Industries, his finger dangling nervously above the 'End' key and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Just as the Elevator reached the midway point halfway up the building, Axel let out a tense and shaky sounding sigh and slammed his finger down hard onto the 'End' key, robbing Sionis Industries of all its power and plunging the entire building into an all encompassing darkness. Up several levels between the 18th and 19th floor, the Elevator carrying the dozen gunmen came to a complete and sudden halt, successfully stranding the 12 Clown-Masked thugs between the two floors with no means of escape bar a monumental plummet back down to the lobby.

In the office, Axel jumped to his feet and cheered wildly, dancing on the spot and congratulating himself on a job well done. Taking off out of the office and into the Lobby, Axel ran up towards Lisa and Mick with a massive cheesy grin plastered across his smooth features.  
__"And just like that, i remain the coolest member of this little gang. I'm just too good!"__ Axel said with a sneer and a faux-curtsy he bowed before the other two Rogues. Lisa and Mick looked at each other with plain looks on their faces before they began heading towards the stairs, refusing to give Axel the attention he so desperately craved. Behind them, Axel pouted and begun jogging after his companions with a completely defeated aura about him.  
__"Aww c'mon guys. That was pretty sweet, you've gotta admit! Guys? Guys? Aww don't be shitty!"__

* * *

__"I'll ask again before i paint the walls with your brains. Any last words Gentlemen?__"  
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Both Cold and Mark were completely surrounded on all angles by countless masked men pointing gun's at their heads. If they even thought about moving or striking back against them then they'd be goners. Cold's gun wasn't nearly quick enough to take out all the men before they got mowed down by a barrage of lead and the storm Mark was still brewing up outside wasn't peaking anywhere near quickly enough to actually cause any real damage before Roman ordered them dead. He had to figure out how to stall them, but how?

Before Cold even had the chance to give a witty retort or something along those lines, the power to the entire building suddenly seemed to shut down of it's own accord and the whole place was plunged into a complete and all consuming darkness. Black Mask's eyes sprung wide open and he looked around the room frantically, his dual pistols still held firmly within his hands and an undeniable sense of panic dripping from his tone.

__"What the fuck? Why is the power out!? WHAT'S HAPPENING?! THE POWER CAN'T BE DOWN, THAT'S THE ONLY THING KEEP THE BAT OU..."__ and before Black Mask could even finish his sentence the massive window behind him shattered into thousands of tiny shiny pieces as a broad figure cloaked in black rocketed through the glass and collided with Black Mask, knocking them both across the room and somewhere into the darkness. The countless masked goons all seemed to gasp in unison and instantly opened fire towards where they were sure the figure in black had dragged their leader, completely ignoring both Cold and Mark. Seizing the opportunity with both hands, Cold grabbed Mark's arm and forcibly dragged him down onto the floor before he started crawling around the firing squad and towards the exit.

"__HOLY SHIT! What the hell was that thing?!"__ Mark whispered frantically as both he and Cold crawled towards the doors as quickly as they possibly could before the squad turned their attention away from gunning down whatever that thing was that took out Black Mask and started hunting them again.  
__"That my friend, I believe was the infamous Gotham City Bat. Keep it moving though Mark, you saw what he did to Roman, who knows what he'll do if he spots us."__ Cold whispered back. Within moments both he and Mark had managed to skitter along the floor and reach the doors out of the office without anyone apparently noticing. Rising to their feet, both males groaned in unison as they slammed the doors leading into Roman's office shut, tipping over one of the heavy filing cabinets to impede anything that tried to come after them. With the door sealed shut, Cold heaved a sigh of relief and wiped a thin layer of sweat off his forehead. They'd effectively sealed Roman, his henchman, and more importantly, the Bat inside, now to actually get out of here before anything else went wrong. Not even taking a proper moment to catch their breath both Mark and Cold took off sprinting through the waiting room and towards the stairs that lead back to the lobby, since with the power out the elevator was no longer an option. They'd gotten what they'd came for and survived their encounter with Black Mask, now to get outside and back to the van before Roman or the Bat caught up with them. Several floors below their current location, Cold and Mark caught sight of the other three Rogues quickly making their way up the stairs towards them. Cold would never admit it, but he'd never been to happy to see anyone else his entire life.

What they had to do was simple, they just had to head across town and somehow manage to steal Hartley back from The Joker's clutches before either the clown found out what they were up to or worse yet, killed Hartley, if The Joker hadn't already done so of course. The task at hand should be easy enough, but considering how everything else had gone recently Cold couldn't shake the niggling feeling in the back of his mind that told him things were about to get much much worse.

* * *

Somewhere in Gotham City, things were not looking good for Hartley Rathaway. Hartley was currently chained up against a wall with barbed wire wrapped tightly around his wrists, waist and ankles. Both his eyes were sealed shut due to the massive bruises he had on each eye and he was missing a few teeth, all of which seemed to be scattered around him on the floor in their own little patches of now dried up blood. The room itself was completely dark besides a blinding spotlight that shone continuously onto his face with an unrelenting fury. To make matters worse, by the looks of things Hartley also had both a broken ankle and a dislocated shoulder to boot.

Hartley's body hung loose in his bonds, apparently unconscious. His breathing sounded heavy and labored, but it was there and that was all that mattered. Hartley continued to hang lifelessly from the wire before the door into the little torture chamber swung open and startled him awake. The battered male jumped up as he was dragged from his unconscious stupor and screamed in agony as he accidentally put pressure onto his broken ankle. Across the room, a tall silhouette appeared in the bright doorway and stepped into the chamber before carefully closing the door behind itself delicately.

_"Good evening Mr Rathaway, You're looking... uhh, awake? How has my little wire-wrap been treating you? It's almost sinful how good it feels, right? Well, it is the most popular treatment here at "Papa J's Snicker Spa" after all. The guests before you screamed and cried about how wonderful it was on their delicate skin and bones, didn't want me to rip it off when their time was up. They always begged for more... or for me to stop. It's hard to tell what a man with no tongue is saying, y'know?"_ the silhouette said with a menacing sounding giggle as it continued to approach Hartley, who by this point was shaking like a leaf and on the verge of tears.  
_"Oh what's wrong? You don't like it do you? Too extreme? Well if you don't like that..."_ the shape chimed in with glee as it lurcheded forward into the blinding light and wrapped a gloved hand tightly around Hartleys neck. As the male below him wheezed and gagged in his iron-grip, The Joker leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Hartleys, staring into his prisoners eyes with a manic look of sheer excitement visible in his dark green hues and his trademark Cheshire grin stretched painfully across his ghostly white features.  
"_How about we try a little bit of everything until we find something that manages to satisfy your refined palette? After all, i aim to please."_


	8. The One Where They Prepare For War

Roman Sionis was not a happy man. After the previous night's little meeting with Captain Cold had quickly turned itself from a simple yet tense meeting into a goddamn machine gun massacre followed up by an ass-whooping by none other than the Batman himself, it was safe to say that things weren't going too well for the self-proclaimed Kingpin of the Gotham City Crime Syndicate. With The Joker currently gaining precious ground on him from every direction and the Bat closing in on his operations with every passing moment, The Black Mask couldn't allow for this nonsense to continue if he hoped to be the only one left standing at the end of this seemingly never ending shit-show. If he was going to somehow take out both the Joker and Batman out of the equation without so much as a hitch then he'd have to get a little bit creative. Luckily for Roman, being underhanded came to him oh so naturally.

Deciding that enough was enough, Roman had summoned each and every single one of his main underlings over to Sionis Industries to discuss their next move before things spiraled out of control any further than they already had. Along the wide, long hardwood table sat 6 individuals, excluding Roman himself of course, who was currently sat at the very top of the table looking out at the rest of his crew in what everyone presumed was an oddly transparent yet still mostly effective display of the power he clearly held over these men and the city itself. Behind him stood Kelly Li, holding a small brown leather Filofax and looking visibly anxious at the gaggle of psychopaths Roman had decided to call into his office that evening. Despite her steely demeanor Kelly was not used to all this nonsense, although the healthy wage Roman was paying her certainly helped to make these situations that much easier.

At the bottom of the table sat Maximilian Zeus looking towards The Black Mask with a less than impressed look on his face. Across from Zeus sat the infamous Flamingo: The Eater of Faces. Enough said. Next to Flamingo sat Sherman Fine, better known around the world as the Broker and of course across from Sherman and next to Zeus sat none other than Professor Pyg, his head still wrapped in blood soaked bandages yet still somehow managing to sport his trademark dirty looking Pig mask over the wraps. Next to each of them and sat either side of Roman himself were his two bodyguards, namely the Abramovici Twins, staring down the other 4 members of the table with a truly terrifying grimace present on each of their stony faces and their infamous weapons, namely a Hammer and a Sickle, grasped firmly in their gigantic hands. With so many big names and even bigger personalities all piled up into his office Roman couldn't help but feel that this sort of power play was exactly what had gotten him into this problematic situation in the first place. Thoughts like that however were exactly the line of thought that made him weak and susceptible to both The Joker and The Batman's crushing influence, so without another moments contemplation Roman rose to his feet and placed his hands down flat onto the glossy table beneath him.

"__Alright Gentlemen, you all know why we're here this evening. Our little turf-war with The Joker is going pear-shaped with each passing second due to your collective incompetence, and on top of that Batman is on the warpath to take both the Clown and I out before either one of us actually succeeds in taking over this godforsaken City. Oh, and now Captain Cold and the rest of the Central City Rogues have waded into the fight and thanks to the Trickster all of our resources, information and intel have been stolen from us before being wiped clean from our servers. To summarise, we're fucked."__ Roman said plainly as he reached into the inner pocket of his suit and withdrew a long, thick cigar and placed it between his lips. Without even saying a word, Kelly reached forward and lit the cigar for Roman, who nodded in response and puffed on the cigar contently. Around the table, the rest of the men all seemed to shift uncomfortably on the spot while glancing around the room in a desperate attempt to avoid locking eyes with Roman, all except for Pyg of course who was humming away to himself absentmindedly while throwing another handful off oddly coloured pills down his throat.

__"So, any idea's on how we can remedy this little situation?"__ Roman chimed in coldly, staring out towards the other 4 men with an unreadable look on his sharp features. Seeing that clearly no one else was willing to rise to the challenge, eventually Zeus at the other end of the table cleared his throat and spoke up, shifting his gaze up to meet The Black Mask's with a blase expression visible on his face.  
"__Well, chances are that little twerp who stole the information has a copy on his person, he wouldn't risk leaving it anywhere considering how valuable it it. It's more than likely still on the USB he used to steal the information from us in the first place, so if we were to find where The Trickster and the rest of Cold's gang are hiding then getting the information back should be easy enough. They got the drop on us last night, but we still have the home-field advantage here."__ Zeus said with a almost dismissive shrug. Around him, the table erupted with a series of mumbles that seemed to be agreeing with his sentiments. Back up at the top of the table, Roman right eye could be seen twitching slightly and he silently took another long draw from the cigar.

__"Don't you think i thought of that already Zeus? Anyway, where they're going they won't get a chance to use the information anyway. It was stolen as a power play, nothing more.__" Roman replied as he flicked the butt of his cigar to dispose of the thick grey ash building up on the tip, not really caring where the foul residue fell.  
__"And where exactly are they going?"__ Zeus replied in a much more abrasive sounding tone than he originally intended.  
__"Why, they're going to see The Joker. Remember Mr Rathaway? Well it turns out he's a friend of The Rogues, and when they heard that he'd found himself in a mess of trouble after getting mixed up in Joker and I's little quarrel they swooped in to save their little friend like the heroes they oh so desperately hope they are. Or more accurately, they're here to save whatever of him is left by this point i suppose."__ Roman sneered with a cold sounding chuckle, another cloud of thick grey smog escaping his barely parted lips as he spoke.  
__"And you're alright with that? Those fools just waltzing into The Joker's hideaway with all your secrets in tow?"__ Zeus said in a frustrated tone, his eyes wide and arms planted firmly on the tables smooth surface.  
__"The cat may be in the cradle..."__ Pyg chimed in with a feverish chuckle. __"But the Pyg's in the sty..."__ the fat man concluded, a cloudy paste like drool slipping from his mouth and dripping down his blood soaked apron as the pills clearly began to take effect.  
Roman rolled his eyes at Pyg's insane ramblings. The Swine masked man was already a difficult individual to deal with as it was, but when he was self-prescribing and necking pills like they were M&amp;M's Pyg was almost impossible to be around.

Deciding it better to simply ignore the masked man's erratic behavior, Roman looked back towards the rest of his underlings and postured himself confidently before them.  
__"So, no one has any ideas then?"__ Roman said, irritation clearly apparent in his voice as he spoke. __"What am i even paying you assholes for if you can't even think of a simple fucking plan to kill a clown and a man in a leather bat suit for Christ Sake?!"__  
__"Well i don't hear you suggesting anything. You're spending all your time posturing and stroking your own ego as opposed to actually helping us with this damn problem. There's a reason you're losing ground at the speed you are Roman, and it isn't OUR incompetence that's the cau..."__ Maxxie sneered proudly, but before he could finish his sentence an ear-splitting shot filled the office and a sickening squelching noise followed suit as a single bullet from Roman's revolver fired across the room like lightening and struck Zeus right between the eyes, killing the man instantly. Raising the barrel of the gun up to his mouth, The Black Mask sneered to himself and blew on the smoking barrel of the revolver carefully before effortlessly slipping the gun back into the holster hidden away on the inside of his suit jacket. Across the room, Maxxie's frame slumped down hard onto the table with a hollow sounding thump. Next to the now lifeless corpse that was once known as 'Maxxie Zeus', Professor Pyg squealed in delight and leaned over on top of the motionless mass before he began slowly licking the blood off of the still fresh exit wound on the back of Maxxie's head hungrily. Roman and the other 3 men all winced at the sight. Kelly Li threw her hand up to her mouth as if she were about to vomit. The Abramovici twins faces remained stoic as if they never noticed what was happening not even a few mere feet away from their faces.

Taking a few seconds to compose himself before speaking again, Roman peeled his eyes off of the absolutely abhorrent sight before him and towards the lucky few of his companions in the room who were still breathing.  
__"Alright gentlemen, since no one here seems to have any better idea's, here's the new plan. Pyg and the Abramovici twins are gonna head over to Joker's not-so-secret hideaway over in West Gotham. You're gonna take two or three Doll-O-Trons with you but not all of them, i need as many of them as i can get for my End-Game. When you get there you're gonna stay hidden and wait there until you see Cold and the rest of the Rogues arrive to try and set Rathaway free. When they actually do arrive you follow them in and wait for them to confront the Clown and his beau before you all jump on in and raise all kinds of hell. I want Cold AND The Joker's head's brought back to me on a fucking pike, y'hear me?"__ Roman announced with a devilish grin as he took yet another puff from the ever-shrinking cigar pressed between his thin pink lips.

__"Any questions?"__  
Down across the table, Pyg looked up towards Roman with a slick layer of scarlet blood covering the entire bottom half of his face. Around the room everyone seemed to groan at the sight, all wincing visibly and turning their faces away from the horrific display the Masked Individual was putting on as he arose from the corpse beneath him. As well as the blood dripping from his jaw, both of the obese male's beady eyes seemed completely glazed over and his body was twitching erratically.  
__"Anyone got a straw?"__

* * *

Across town at the nicest motel they could find that was both affordable and more importantly under-the-radar, The Rogues were all individually preparing themselves for the nightmare they were about to walk into with open arms. After their face-off with both The Black Mask himself and The Joker's Henchmen the previous night the 5 Rogues had all somehow managed to get a good night sleep, although considering the events of the past few days Cold had mused that it was down to nothing more than exhaustion than good luck. The 5 Rogues had been through their fair share of shit over the last few months, but as they all mentally and physically prepared themselves to go toe-to-toe with The Joker they all collectively felt that they may very well be getting themselves in way over their heads with this next move.

At the aforementioned motel, they'd managed to rent 3 rooms all next door to each other. Cold and Mick were in the first room, Mark and Axel were in the second and Lisa had somehow managed to get a room to herself at the end. Lisa's ability to get whatever she wanted when it came to him had never failed to both impress and confuse her older Brother. Currently laying on the wide and comfortable double bed with a grimace on his face and a cigarette held lightly between his gloved fingers, Cold let out a anxious sounding sigh and raised the cigarette up to meet his lips, sucking in a deep inhale before wistfully exhaling, a thin layer of pale grey smokey ash spilling upwards into the air and disappearing the further from it rose from Cold's open mouth. Cold really wasn't much of a smoker, frankly he thought of it as a truly disgusting little habit, but as much as he hated to admit it a single cigarette in times of stress really did help to take the edge off. Thank god he didn't have an addictive personality Cold thought to himself as he tapped the end of the cigarette and let the ash on the end of the stick drift silently downwards and onto the dirty motel carpet.

At the moment, Mick was in their shared bathroom singing loudly and completely out of tune to some ridiculous sounding electro-pop song as he took what Cold was willing to bet was a boiling-hot shower.  
"'__My name is branded to your brain, a latex fashionesta affair! Say 'Please', i'll have you on your knees's submissive to my femme fatale stare!'__" Mick screeched away like no one was listening, the sound of the pulsing stream of water failing miserably to cover his obnoxious wailing.

"__Oh god, what did i do to deserve this?__" Cold mused aloud as he took another draw from the ever-dwindling cigarette held tenderly between his slim digits.  
__"I'd think the 'sleeping with him' part is what did it Len."__ Lisa said in a taunting tone as she slunk into Cold's motel room, kicking the door closed behind her as she walked in. Apparently Mick's singing was so deafening that Cold never even heard someone sneaking into their room over it. Christ sake, Cold was NOT with it today. That didn't bode well.  
__"Honestly we're 3 songs into Mick's mini-concert and at this point i don't even think the sex is worth it..."__ Cold snarled in response as he took yet another draw from the cigarette. Lisa looked towards her brother and flashed him a genuinely disgusted look - Cold wasn't sure if it was towards the comment or towards the cigarette - before eventually sitting herself down gently in the single armchair facing the bed.

If it weren't for Mick's unbearable singing, the room would have been filled up with an insidious silence as the Snart siblings sat in each others company. Normally Lisa would have forced some basic level of conversation onto her older brother, but she knew fine well that whenever Lenny decided to have a cigarette that it meant that her Brother's stress levels were running a fair bit higher than what they usually were, which was saying something. For what felt like the millionth time in the past few months, the brunette decided to bite her tongue and not frustrate her brother any further than what he already was. No one seemed to have given Mick that particular memo though as from within the bathroom the loud singing continued.

__"UNTOUCHABLE! UNBREAKABLE! T-TOUCHABLE! I'M FLEXI-BU-UH-UHL!"__

Sucking in what seemed to be the final draw of the now completely dwindled cigarette, Cold let out a wild sounding groan as he flicked the small stub across the room. Enough was enough. Rising off of the bed and to his feet, Cold swiped his Cold-Gun off the small dresser next to the bathroom door and muttered away to himself angrily as he turned the gun's power levels down to the lowest possible setting. Pushing open the bathroom door only ever so slightly, Cold fired a single shot from the gun into the bathroom and right towards the bathing male. Although he never saw the bolt of ice connect with it's intended target, Mick wild howl of surprise let him know that his attack had hit home. With a grin now planted firmly on his face, Cold poked his head into the bathroom and began speaking to his jilted companion, who currently had the shower curtain wrapped around himself to try and protect whatever level of modesty he still had after that embarrassing scream.

"__Hey Mick, I've got a teeeeeeny bit of a migraine so if you could keep your fucking horrendous singing down to a 'dull roar' then that'd be just great. Thaaaaaanks.__" Cold cooed in an overly pleasant voice as he stared into the broader males eyes with an oddly threatening look visible in his pale blue eyes. Behind the shower curtain, Mick nodded his head frantically as his teeth chattered away from the sudden drop in temperature as he watched his on-off lover slip out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him as he went.

Lisa looked upon her older brother with wide eyes and a wiry smirk on her face as Cold trundled back over to the bed and collapsed onto it face down, his body going completely limp as he sunk further into the oddly comfortable mattress. Inside the bathroom Mick's singing had indeed stopped but now he was humming almost silently as he bathed. Cold sighed aloud at the sound while Lisa failed miserably to hide a sadistic looking grin.  
__"Oh god Lenny, you two are too damn cute when you act all 'domestic'.__" Lisa teased, crossing one leg over the other as she relaxed into the armchair.  
__"Brat.__"

* * *

In the next room and on their own shared double bed, Mark suddenly jolted awake at the terrified shriek that had come tearing through the walls from Len and Mick's room. His entire body naturally tensed up as he awaited whatever was to follow, but after a few seconds when nothing seemed to be happening the dark haired male let out a relieved sounding exhale and slowly relaxed himself back down onto the warm embrace of the mattress. Mark didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of actually managing to fall back to sleep, the little scare just moments ago had seen to that, but at the very least he could enjoy this moment of peace and quiet while it lasted.  
At that exact moment in time Mark was laying directly in the center of the bed with a still fast asleep Axel curled up in the fetal position while dozing silently on his chest. Across the room and sitting on their dressed was Axel's laptop, the younger males phone plugged into the USB port and the overworked machine slowly but surely making its way through the seemingly endless heaps of information Axel had managed to steal from Sionis Industries during last nights raid. Figuring that wherever Hartley was had to have been stored in Roman's personal files, Cold and suggested Mark and Axel sift through the information to try and find where The Joker was hiding away before it was too late. Easy enough, or so they thought before they'd noticed the unbelievably long 'estimated running time' which when it had started sorting the files that morning had said '15 hours', or there about's.

Last thing Mark could remember was Axel suggesting the two snuggle up together and simply wait until they had managed to find the address they needed. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but the unshakable grogginess Mark currently felt wracking his entire body after their little nap had turned into a proper sleep was disagreeing with the original sentiment. That an he desperately needed to piss. Ever so delicately managing to move the snoozing male off of his chest and over gently onto one of the pillows, Mark carefully managed to edge himself off of the bed and rose to his feet. With a tired sounding yawn, Mark stretched his entire frame out before silently tip-toeing over towards the bathroom. While Mark disappeared into the small tiled room and locked the door behind him, the Laptop across the room made a loud dinging noise, signalling that after god knows how long all the files had been properly sorted.

Almost like clockwork, the second the 'dinging' noise echoed around the room Axel's peaceful slumber was brought to an abrupt end. Opening his mouth ever so slightly and making a completely exhausted sounding moan, the younger male writhed about on the bed with his arms patting lazily around the bed looking for his boyfriend, however when he failed to find any sign of the taller male he let out a defeated sounding sigh and slowly began to crack his eyes open. Moaning aloud for a second time as he fully began to regain consciousness, Axel swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned over himself to place his elbows down onto his knees as a makeshift support for his drooping head. Well the good news is that his headache was now a distance memory. Bad news is his neck was feeling a bit sticky after sleeping on the taller males chest. Sleeping on Mark was proving to be a double-edged sword in that sense.  
"__Oh, so you're awake now eh? Figures. How you feelin' babe?__" Mark asked from within the small bathroom, his voice echoing ever so slightly as he spoke.  
"__Oh god, i feel like shit. Naps do NOT agree with me. You need to stop being so damn comfortable Mardon, my neck fuckin' kills...__" Axel announced with a playful chuckle and a yawn as he rose to his feet and made his way over towards the laptop.  
"__Ha! I'll be sure to remind you of that next time you beg for snuggles then..."__ Retorted the other male in a playful tone as from within the bathroom Axel heard the toilet flush.  
__"Y'better not. Those pecs of your's continue to be the most surprisingly comfortable pillow on the damn planet."__ Axel flirted back as he took as seat in front of the laptop and began tinkering away at the keypad. Wherever that psychopath had Hartley holed up had to hidden somewhere in these countless files, now all Axel had to do was find it.

* * *

Back in Cold's room, the Captain himself had finally sat up in the bed and was currently sitting with his back to the wooden headboard with Lisa sitting next to him. Whether or not they were aware of it both the Snart siblings were almost exactly mirroring each others body language with both their legs stretched out and their arms folded nearly over their chests as they chatted among themselves. Inside the bathroom the flow of water, and more importantly Mick's humming, had finally stopped and the pyromaniac seemed to finally be getting himself dried.

__"So, what're you thinking then?"__ Lisa started, turning to look at her brother with a somewhat plain look on her usually soft features.  
__"About what?"__ Cold asked.  
__"About what we're about to do of course? I mean, it's not every day we plan to take a piss in The Joker's cornflakes, if you know what i mean."__ Lisa said in a matter of fact tone as she shrugged her shoulders.

Cold hesitated for a moment and pursed his lips, searching for the appropriate reply and apparently coming up short. How was he meant to reassure his sister that everything was going to be alright when not even he himself was truly confident that tonight was going to work out in the Rogues favor? Eventually he turned to look towards his younger sister and began to speak, hoping his answer would suffice.  
__"Well yeah, it is risky, but then again when is what we do for a living NOT risky. It's just how it goes. We've been through much worse and made it out. We can do this. I know we can..."__ Cold replied calmly with a nod. It wasn't quite what he had originally planned to say, but it would need to do. Lisa's eyes lit up slightly and she tilted her head over to rest on her brothers shoulders.  
__"Ah Lenny, you're so full of shit."__ Lisa remarked playfully, successfully managing to pull a laugh out of the icy individual she called her Brother.

Just as Cold began to think that maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all, all of a sudden the doors into Cold and Mick's room swung open once again and Axel came bounding into the room excitedly with a more reserved Mark trailing behind the smaller male closely. Lisa puffed out an anxious sounding sigh and sat back up properly once more, looking towards the Axel and Mark and giving them a small wave as they entered. Cold however instantly shifted from 'Lenny' into 'Captain Cold'-Mode and turned to look into at Axel with a stern look visible in his pale blue eyes.  
__"I take it you've got something then?__" Cold asked.  
__"Yep Len, we got it. According to Black Mask's most recent report, The Joker actually has been calling the recently abandoned Wayne Observatory as his 'Headquarters' right now. Talk about balls of steel eh?"__ Axel announced proudly, his hands placed firmly on his slender hips as he spoke to the Snart siblings.

Well, here goes nothing. Once they left the motel they were actually going to head over the The Joker's headquarters to pull what Cold genuinely believed to be their most ambitious stunt to date. It was nerve-wracking, but also oddly exciting.

Cold swallowed harshly. He could really do with another cigarette right about now.

* * *

Still locked away in the basement area of the abandoned Observatory, Hartley Rathaway was currently sat at a large and busy looking workbench tinkering away with what looked like a small radio transmitter. Although sitting upright in a well-used looking wooden chair, Hartley was chained by the ankles to the large workbench by some old rusty chains so avoid him actually trying to escape. Given his unusual tenacity if the circumstances were different then Hartley would have freed himself from his bonds days ago much like he had when locked up in the pipeline back at S.T.A.R labs. Much like a exotic bird, Hartley didn't exactly do well in cages. However, unlike Cisco, the company The Joker actually kept weren't quite as susceptible to Hartley's manipulation as he would have hoped. That and considering he was spending almost all his time chained to a wall by barbed wire wraps and getting tortured in all matter of inventive ways, Hartley's motivation to do anything other than actually survive this ordeal and comply with the Madman's demands was at an all time low.

Somewhere in the room, the P.A system buzzed viciously as it turned on. The brunette winced aloud and threw his hands up to his ears to protect himself from the sinister throbbing that pulsed through his head like a swarm of angry hornets. Even with his special hearing-aids planted inside his ears every time that damn speaker went off Hartley felt like someone was pushing red hot pins into his eardrums. He suspected that's why The Joker made so many damn announcements, that and the fact that Grinning Ghoul was clearly in love with the sound of his own voice.

"_Good evening everyone! Papa J here!"_ The all too familiar voice of the Mad Mountebank echoed through the building, instantly filling it with an oppressive feeling of dread as the Clown made what felt like his millionth proclamation for the day.  
"_And Nana Harley too!"_ chimed in his love-sick puppy of a girlfriend Harley Quinn with a sickeningly sweet sounding giggle.  
_"Were pleased to report that productivity is UP kiddo's! Haha! After a truly monumental struggle we have finally managed to take complete control over West Gotham! Troops will be cementing our position of power around the district over the next few days while we continue to disperse with the dregs of Mr. Mask's pathetic little army as well as any members of the G.C.P.D looking to become Martyrs."_ The Joker hissed over the intercom with a psychotic sounding glee to his tone. Hartley shivered at he felt the Clown's deep voice glide over his bruised skin like a dull razor.  
"_And thanks to the absolutely invaluable help of our newest employee Hartley Rathaway, Mr. J's special party-favor is almost complete!"_ Harley added in her thick Brooklyn accent with an overexcited shriek.  
_"That it is Harley girl, that it is! In less than 48 hours Gotham City will be mine and mine alone! Challengers will fall and a Champion will rise! Haha! Now i know all my kiddies are ever so excited to see just what it is I've got hidden up my sleeve to secure my victory. Is it a gas bomb? An unfortunate fire that somehow manages to strike every Orphanage in the city? Perhaps it's another plan to poison the water supply?"_ In his seat, Hartley rolled his eyes and continued fixing the small metal dish in his hands. Hartley was an egomaniac, he was well aware of that, but Jesus Christ, The Joker put Hartley's attitude problems in the shade. That man deserved to be studied.  
"_Well i'm afraid you're just gonna need to wait and see just what exactly my little 'Ace in the Hole' actually is. Surprises are best left in the dark i always say, it adds an almost palpable feeling of anticipation to the upcoming proceedings! But believe me everyone, when you see what it is i've got planned, You'll. Just. Die!"_


	9. The One With The Total Omnishambles

It said a lot about Gotham City that it had not one, but two abandoned Observatory's.

The First, The Strix Observatory, was located directly in the center of the city and was nearly 220 years old, but as the City had began to smother it completely in a labyrinth of Skyscrapers like a wild and untamed garden, it's original purpose had proven useless. The seemingly impenetrable smog that permanently obscured the City's skyline that had set in following the Skyscrapers construction didn't help matters either.

As a result, a newer observatory had been opened not 30 years ago on the outskirts of the City along the coast at the peak of the highest cliff that managed to overlook both the city and the wide expanse of stars that formed an exotic blanket over the vast untamed ocean. The new and improved Wayne Observatory was founded after their tragic deaths and had been fitted with what was at the time the latest and greatest pieces of tech and machinery that money could buy. As a result it had remained at the forefront of the Gotham Tourist Syndicate for decades until fairly recently when a violent bout between Batman, Nightwing and The Firefly at a Wayne Enterprises Charity Gala had seen the building almost burned to a cinder. The once grand Observatory had since been abandoned with foreclosure immanent due to the state of disrepair the battling costumed characters had left in their wake. Or so they city had been lead to believe.

It was in this very Observatory that The Joker had decided to make himself at home. From here the clown had an almost perfect birds-eye view of the entire city and could effortlessly command his troops and carry out each step of his horrifying schemes with a personal touch. It really was the perfect location for a budding Tyrant to call home, and seeing it up close and personal did nothing to still the heavy feeling of dread hanging around painfully in the pit of Cold's stomach.

Currently hiding in one of the darker shadows outside the eerily quiet Observatory, The 5 Central City Rogues all stood staring at their leader with wide eyes and expectant looks on their faces. Clearly the weight of the situation had finally struck the other 5 and once again they were looking towards Cold for some level of guidance. Lucky for them leading this little posse of criminals was one of many things that Cold considered himself good at. Looking over his shoulder and towards the dimly lit building not 20 feet away from them, Cold nodded to himself and turned back towards his companions with his jaw tense and a worried look reflecting in his pale blue eyes.

__"Right, here's the plan. Mark, Lisa, you two are with me and Axel you're going with Mick. What were gonna do is gonna sound crazy, but it's the only way this plan is actually going to work, so you're just gonna have to shut up and trust me. Okay?__" Cold announced strictly, his tone allowing no room for interruption or suggestion as he looked towards the other 4 awaiting their reply.

__"Yeah Lenny, we understand."__ Lisa responded as she rolled her eyes. Besides her, Mick nudged her shoulder.

__"Sarcasm aside, we gotcha. So what's the plan Len?"__ Mick said with a nod.

__"Right. Well, you and Axel are gonna find a way to sneak into the building and find Hartley while Mark, Lisa and I..."__ Cold spoke, pausing briefly to prepare himself for the almost guaranteed negative reaction his plan was about to receive. __"Are gonna walk through the front door and ask to speak to The Joker".__

Around him, Cold noticed the other four's faces drop and a look of complete confusion suddenly dawn on their faces. Eventually, Mark managed to shake himself out of his stupor and looked towards Cold with a very thinly veiled look of fear visible on his rugged features.

__"So, let me get this straight. We're just gonna walk straight into the Lions den and hope everything goes well?"__ Mark balked, the other 3 Rogues all muttering away among themselves in what sounded like agreement. Not a good sign that this plan was already losing the crowd's approval.

__"Unfortunately yes, that's exactly what we're gonna do. I've actually met The Joker once or twice before at Luthor's little swaray's. He didn't say much, to me anyway. Since Lex owed me a pretty big favor, i called it in and got him to get in touch with The Joker and organize a meeting. Gotta love having friends in high places. He's expecting Lisa, Mark and I in around 5 minutes for some light 'Hostage Negotiations'. However, The Joker isn't aware that Mick and Axel are with us so that gives you two the perfect opportunity to sneak in and get Hartley out before things go pear-shaped, which we all know they will. Regardless of what happens in there we'll meet back at the van at the first sign of trouble if we have Hartley or not. Am i clear?"__ Cold said as confidently as possible, almost daring one of the others to question his plan.

The other 4 rogues didn't quite look convinced, but all nodded their heads in the affirmative none the less. Exhaling deeply, Cold rose to his feet and pushed his gloved hands into his Parka's pockets before looking down towards the rest of his little Rogues Gallery one final time, the heavy knot of anxiety hanging heavy in the pit of his stomach showing no sign of relenting. This was quite possibly the most stupid thing that Cold ever done in his entire criminal career, but he was a notoriously stubborn bastard and wasn't one for backing down, not now not ever. Turning away from the rest of the gang, Cold begun slowly walking away from the safety of their dark little corner and towards the steep looking steps that lead up towards the doors into the Observatory.

As their apparently fearless leader begun the metaphorical charge towards The Joker's stronghold, Lisa and Mark shared a nervous looking glance between themselves as they too finally rose to their feet and begun jogging lightly ahead to try and catch up with Cold. While neither of them really believed that this plan was all that Cold clearly cracked it up to be, both Rogues agreed that sticking together was the only way they would possibly survive this suicidal encounter. Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, Mark looked back towards Axel and Mick to say something and only just managed to spot the both of them silently slipping further and further into the darkness behind them before they completely disappeared from his sight. At this point, Mark didn't know who's safety he was more worried for.

Refusing to waste even a single second, Cold swung his hand forward and bashed the door of the Observatory harshly 3 times, signalling to whoever was listening that they had finally arrived. Behind Cold, Mark and Lisa came to a halt and subconsciously seemed to inch closer to one another in an obvious sign of support. Cold looked back over his shoulder towards the other two Rogues and quickly threw a reassuring smile in their general direction.

__"Keep calm guys. We've got this."__

A second or two passed before the front doors of the Observatory creaked open, revealing none other than The Joker's main hench-woman Harley Quinn leaning lazily against the door-frame with an almost sultry looking smirk visible on her painted white features.

Despite the fact Cold had been in the same room as The Joker once or twice before, he'd never actually gotten the chance to meet The Clown's main squeeze. Stood looking up at him with a leather black and red biker outfit on, complete with matching corset and corresponding dip-dyed hair, it was clear to Cold that the blonde's iconic red and black catsuit was a thing of the past. Peeling his attention off of the blonde's outfit, Cold looked past her and towards a group of 6 men wearing identical looking Clown-Masks that lurked silently behind the girl, heavy duty assault rifles held tightly within their hands as they stood motionless facing the 3 Rogues. Cold gave the masked men a less than impressed look before he looked back towards Harley, who was still staring up at him but now her little smirk had been replaced with a wide grin spread evenly across her face.

__"Hellooooooo nurse! Welcome to our humble abode! You must be Lenny, right?"__ The Pig-tailed Clown girl said in a heavy accent while her fingers weaved effortlessly among the dip-dyed red and blonde strands of hair. Once she finished speaking, Harley begun blowing an obnoxiously big pink bubble of chewing gum between her blood red lips.

__"Cold. Captain Cold. And let me guess, you must be Harley? Pleasure to meet you."__ Cold remarked as he held his hand out to shake Harleys. Not missing a beat, Harley popped the bubble and withdrew her hands from her hair. Spitting the wad of chewing gum out of her mouth and into her hands, Harley giggled playfully as she reached forward and begun shaking with Cold, leaving the sticky wad of pink gum in Cold's gloved hands after she had withdrew her own.

Behind him, Lisa and Mark failed to suppress a laugh at the poisonous look Cold threw back at Harley. Acting as if she had somehow managed to miss the look, Harley looked over Cold's shoulder and waved at the other two Rogues standing behind him.

__"Harley Quinn. Please t' meetcha!"__ She chimed over towards them in an overly warm tone. Both the Rogues behind Cold smiled and gave the blonde a small wave and introduced themselves before she finally snapped her attention back up to Cold, who had only just managed to peel the gum off of his gloves and had thrown it to the ground with a disgusting sounding plop.

__"Anyway, yer here to see Mistah J right? Well come on in Handsome, he's waiting on ya."__ The female said as she shifted her body out of the way and beckoned the three Rogues into their hideout.

In the distance, no one stood at the doors into The Joker's hideout seemed to have noticed that not too far off down the road leading up to the Observatory there were three identical completely black vans with blacked out windows rocketing up the dusty path and making a beeline for where the crowd currently gathered.

* * *

While Cold, Mark and Lisa had barely even managed to make it into the front doors, Mick and Axel had already successfully made their way into the Observatory through a rather conveniently unlocked fire-exit along the south wall. Once they were in, sneaking around and making their way through the lobby and towards the main security office wasn't a problem. Every inch of this place was crawling with countless armed guards, luckily for them The Joker's need for all his Henchmen to be wearing gawdy and vision-hindering Clown Mask's 24/7 worked to their advantage as far as remaining under the radar went.

Eventually finding the security office tucked away through past what looked to be an abandoned cafeteria, Mick threw caution to the wind and with one almighty kick knocked the door leading into the office right off its hinges, granting Mick and his comparatively tiny companion access to the small box-like office. Behind him, Axel begin lightly clapping at Mick's barbaric display as he pushed forward past the hulking male blocking the doorway and into the office.

__"It wasn't exactly quiet Smokey but i've got to say, that was impressive."__ Axel admitted as he perched himself over the Observatory's CCTV operating system and got to work, tinkering away with the keyboard at a lightning pace that Mick couldn't even begin to keep up with.

__"You weren't so bad yourself kid. That's the longest i've ever heard you keep quiet. We should go snooping together more often."__ Mick sneered back, his attention still firmly held outside to make sure no one would get the drop on them.

__"Now if i didn't know you hate my guts i'd almost say you were hitting on me Smokey."__ Axel taunted as he continued to search through each and every single camera in this damn place in the hopes of finding Harley. Behind him, Mick couldn't stop himself from barking out a harsh sounding laugh at the males suggestion.

__"Keep dreamin' kid. Just focus on finding Piper..."__ Mick replied, shaking his head and chuckling away as he continued to scan the room outside for any sign of interference.

A few moments of almost comfortable silence passed before Axel jumped up from his position with both his arms in the air and a proud smirk on his face.

__"Found him! They're keeping Hartley somewhere in the basement, in what looks like some makeshift Holding Cell and Torture Chamber Combo. It's pretty grisly. The lower levels are crawling with hired muscle though Mick, and it's like a maze down there. We making a plan here, or just winging it?"__ Axel said aloud as a burly looking man wearing a clown mask calmly walked into the abandoned cafeteria and begun sweeping the place for any sign of intruders. Grabbing Axel's wrist and pulling him down into a crouching position, Mick pressed his index finger against his lips before he silently took off away from the office and back towards the hallways of the not-so-abandoned Observatory.

Still crouched down on his knees, Axel heaved out a stressed sounding sigh and did his best to skitter away after Mick without alerting the Masked Goon to his presence. 'Winging It' it is then.

* * *

Yep. It was a dead cert now. There was absolutely no denying it and if they actually somehow managed to survive this experience then Captain Cold would - probably - apologize personally to each and every one of his companions for what he had done. Cold had definitely got The Rogues in way over their head.

__"Puddin', we got company!"__ Harley Quinn echoed into the room before them with a wild giggle as she took of skipping ahead of the group. Currently stood in the entrance to the second floor of the Observatory in what looked to be the mostly dilapidated main Stargazing Chamber, the 3 Rogues stood in awe as their eyes followed after Harley as she playfully trotted further into the room. The room itself was barely standing. The entire place seemed to be covered in thick black ash and dust after the fire not long ago and anything left standing was completely scorched beyond recognition. It was like something out of a horror movie. Along both of the walls leading up the room stood a 2 lines of approximately 8 Masked Clown Men, all stood to attention with their weapons held in their hands and their backs straight. Judging from their posture Cold was willing to bet these men were all ex-military, he just hoped he wouldn't have to find out the hard way.

The gawking at their surroundings continued for a few moment more before their attention was quickly snapped up beyond the leather clad female and towards what looked to be a massive pile of broken and dusty Mannequinns stacked up to the high heavens like a somehow more blasphemous Tower of Babel. It was as beautiful as it was horrifying, which was saying something. Up the front of the mound of mannequins was a rickety looking wooden staircase that extended from the base of the pile before coming to a stop at its peak, atop which sat a completely black throne that seemed to overlook the entire room. Sitting in the throne of course was none other than The Joker himself, looking down towards the 3 Rogues with a manic looking smirk visible on his chalky features and a sadistic look clearly visible in his beady green eyes.

Oh dear god, Cold felt like he was going to piss himself.

__"Well hello Cappy! Why i haven't seen you in a dogs age! Welcome to my humble abode. Go on ahead and make yourselves at home now. 'Mi casa nostra es su casa nostra' and all that, Haha!"__ The mad mountebank announced in an oddly welcoming tone as he sprung to his feet and begun stepping down the steep wooden staircase and towards the three Rogues. From what Cold could see in the dimly lit room, The Joker was dressed head to toe in new sleek black suit that fitted his lanky frame almost too perfectly. The Clowns hair was sheared in tight on the sides of his head and long as the top, although gelled back firmly with not a single strand out of place. In his fingers The Grinning Ghoul was twirling a long solid looking purple cane with a horrid golden bust of his own ghastly head planted firmly on the top. Although their conversation early was pretty brief, Luthor had made a point in advising Cold to be on his guard around the clown, as chances were that every crevasse in the psychopath's suit was filled with a hidden weapon of some sort that was just itching to mess Cold up in some way or another. Cold swallowed drly, god this was getting worse by the second.

Deciding that waiting for the Clown to come to them was an absolutely terrible idea, Cold silently sucked in a single inhale and took off steadily towards the bottom of the stairs to meet their host. Now halfway down the steps, the Joker raised an eyebrow at the approaching Rogue and flashed Harley a strange look. Harley looked up towards her boss and nodded, seemingly having gotten the message. Turning her head over her shoulder and looking towards the gaggle of clown-masked men lining the room, Harley waved her hand dismissively and without a sound clown men all lowered their weapons, relaxing on the spot. Cold barely managed to suppress the sigh of relief that dared to try and escape his tightly shut lips at the sight. His confident aura was all he had right now and he wasn't about to risk loosing it over some insignificant assholes toting some past-it weaponry.

__"Oh Cappy, you either look extremely uncomfortable or pissed off, i haven't quite decided which one yet. You feeling a little nervous there Snart?"__The Joker snarled at the hooded male, showing the stoic looking male a perfectly straight row of yellow looking teeth as he continued to stride down from his throne and toward the approaching Rogues. Lisa and Mark pulled a face at the sight of the Clown's dirty teeth but continued to follow on close behind Cold, just waiting for something - anything! - to happen.

__"Can you blame him Mistah J? Your reputation is bound to precede ya. It's not every day that these guys get the honor of basking in the glory of Clown Prince of Crime himself!"__ Harley Quinn added proudly with a cheeky smile as from behind her The Joker lightly smacked her bottom, eliciting an excited sounding squeal from the blonde who looked up towards her beau with a look of pure adoration visible in her blue eyes.

__"Now Now Harley girl, let's not get ahead of ourselves. No one likes a boaster."__ Wrapping an arm around the females slender waist, The Joker barked out a single laugh and pulled the female in closer towards his lanky frame, pressing his lips against her ear and whispering something silently to her. Pulling away after a few seconds, Harley looked towards her lover and nodded before pulling herself free from The Joker's grasp and skipping away and towards the exit. As she went she paused briefly and locked eyes with Cold.

"__Good luck Handsome."__ She begun before she continued skipping away from the group. "__Yer gonna need it."__

* * *

By now both Mick and Axel had somehow managed to make it down to the Basement of the Observatory undetected. It required some sneaking worthy of a veteran 'Metal Gear Solid' player, but they'd managed to make it in once piece. They'd never say it aloud, but both males were pleasantly surprised at how well this pairing was going.

Pausing briefly as they made it to the bottom of the stairwell into the basement, both Rogues paused and looked down the long narrow corridor and clocked the countless armed Clown-Men pacing back and forward between the rooms. At the very end of the corridor stood the large metal door that Axel was 99% sure housed the captive Hartley. Pursing his lips and scanning the goons with narrowed eyes, Axel eventually turned his attention back to Mick and retreated further into his hiding spot away from the gaze of the unsuspecting hired muscle.

"__Right, i've got a plan. Its monumentally shitty but it's all i got. Are you and your gun ready for some action?"__ Axel whispered, a manic sounding tone playfully lacing his voice as he spoke.

__"Always."__ Mick replied cheerfully as without another word Axel jumped to his feet and stepped out into full view of the masked assailants, his arms spread wide into the air and a 'come-at-me' sneer on his mouth.

__"WHATS UP FELLAS! Y'READY TO RUMBLE?"__ Axel declared proudly as every single ClownMask down the hair snapped their attention down towards where the young males voice was coming from. Still hidden away in the comfort of his hiding spot, Mick cursed aloud to himself and clicked his Heat-Gun up to the highest setting, a bright blue flame now dancing dangerously atop the stock of the gun just waiting to pounce.

That little shit had thrown them right into the metaphorical fire. Lucky for them, Mick was more than accustomed to the feeling.

* * *

Up a few levels on the second floor, things in the main Stargazing Chamber were actually going surprisingly well. At that exact moment in time The 3 Rogues were stood directly in front of The Joker, who currently was sitting on the backs of 2 of his henchman, who were on all fours working as a makeshift chair, while chatting away somewhat idly with the 3 Central City Rogues. The conversation had been almost too welcoming and friendly for Cold's liking, and if their body language was anything to go on then Mark and Lisa seemed to be agreeing with him.

Cold mused that it was possibly due to the fact that Luthor had made it clear he knew Cold well and that maybe, just maybe the clown was showing them some level of respect due to the shared working relationship they both shared with Luthor from time to time. This relaxed complacency however was what got countless others before him killed, thought Cold to himself. Lex had made a point in stressing that the black suited male was an exceptional liar above all else, and that his calm yet somewhat unnerving exterior could be hiding his trademark fury, bubbling away maliciously beneath the surface just waiting for the prime opportunity to spill over.

After a few more minutes of casual small talk and other such nonsense, The Joker raised a gloved hand up to his mouth and yawned into it. Cold was losing him, and everyone knew how the Clown could be if he lost interest in what was going on around him for even a millisecond. Well, here goes nothing.

__"So, small talk aside, I take it you know why we're here then?"__ Cold started somewhat plainly as he took yet another step forward towards The Joker. Across from him, The ghoul was still grinning maniacally at him, his long white face tense looking as he showed no sign of removing that horrifying grimace from his morbid features. Beneath him one of the men currently being used as a chair let out an exhausted sounding puff. The Joker momentarily looked away from Cold and tossed a scowl in the coughing henchman's general direction before bringing a first down sharply onto the goons upper back.

__"Chairs don't talk, remember dopey! Now, where were we... oh, now i remember! Indeed i do know why you're all here Cappy! Sexy Lexy mentioned something about 'Hostage Negotiations' when he called ahead on your behalf. Don't tell me you're here for that traitorous little shit i've got tied up in the basement?"__ The Joker gasped as he faked a shocked sounding tone, placing a large gloved hand over his chest and another onto his cheek to really sell the look.

__"M'afraid so Joker. I was hoping we could come to an agreement about getting him released from your custody and into ours."__ Cold replied with a shrug, trying to seem as calm and in control as he possibly could. If Cold actually hoped to get the soon to be 6 of them out of The Joker's hideaway in once piece then remaining in complete control of the situation was the only hope Cold had of doing so. Shame The Joker was making sure that Cold wasn't going to have an easy time doing so.

Across from him, The Joker stared into Cold's eyes with the grin on his face slowly dissipating and a much sharper, colder look begun to quickly form in his monstrous green eyes. Cold felt a cold chill slip down his entire body and it took every bit of strength he had in him not to let his fear show.

After what seemed like years upon years of heart-stopping uncertainty, The Joker's grin suddenly sprung back onto his face with a vengeance, rising to his feet and taking a step forward towards the still somehow stoic Cold. Cold swallowed dryly.

__"Now see that might be a big of a problem Cappy. Y'see Hartley has grown ever so fond of my little Ha-Hacienda, it'd be a shame to rip him away from the comfort of my little lair without good reason..."__ The Joker spoke whimsically, his hands dancing around in the air for dramatic effect as he spoke.

__"But, since you're such good pals with old Melon-head Luthor, i'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement, i mean i'm not an unreasonab..."__The Joker begun, but was interrupted by the sound of Harley Quinn letting out a shrill sounding scream before she came rocketing back into the room and threw herself into The Joker's arms.

__"Mistah J! Mistah J! We've got company! There's a grou..."__ Harley shrieked manically but was cut off as without warning the Joker drew back his fist and slammed it sharply into the females soft features, knocking her back and out of his arms and onto the floor.

Oh for god sake, what the hell was going on now?

__"DON'T YOU KNOW IT'S RUDE TO INTERRUPT PEOPLE YOU INCOMPETENT OAF! AND HERE I WAS THINKING THAT I TAUGHT YOU SOME MANNERS!"__The Joker barked as he lunged forward and grabbed Harley's wrist, dragging her up off the ground and back onto her feet with absolutely terrifying and unnecessary force. In his arms, the clown girl shook and awaited whatever her beau was about to do next and was shocked to feel his gloved hand gentle caressing her painted white cheek.

Behind him Lisa lurched forward as if to intervene before both Cold and Mark placed a hand on her shoulders and held her back, hopefully before Black-suited psychopath noticed.

__"Lenny! What the fuck are you doing? Are you just gonna let him treat her like that?"__ Lisa whispered to him in a truly terrifying tone , one that Cold hadn't heard from her in years.

__"Of course not! There's a time and a place Lisa, and this isn't it!"__ Cold snarled back strictly.

__"He's right Lisa, that's gonna get us nowhere. We can get him back later."__ Mark added in a hushed tone, his arm still gently pulling Lisa back towards him. Lisa looked defiant for the briefest moment before she eventually relaxed in their grasp and took a single step back towards Mark. Cold failed to suppress a sigh of relief, but felt all things considered he was due a good old sigh. Better sighing at Lisa than the Clown he thought.

There would be more than enough time to give the clown his comeuppance once they'd gotten Hartley back, but as Mark had said reacting to Joker's wild behavior would get them nowhere except sent to an early grave. They'd played it crafty so far, they couldn't risk spoiling it now.

Back with the Joker and Harley, after his latest little outburst things were quickly returning to normal, or whatever the twisted couple could actually define as 'Normal' Cold supposed.

__"Now, calmly tell me what's wrong..."__ The Joker said calmly, his entire attitude completely changing at the drop of a hat as within his arms the skinny blonde visibly relaxed. Rolling his eyes at how much control The Joker clearly had over Harley, Cold turned his head around away from the clown to look towards Lisa and Mark, who shared his look of disgust at the vicious display the odd couple had just put on for them. If keeping the Joker placated wasn't as important to their scheme as it was then by now Cold would have skinned The Joker alive for even laying a hand on his companion.

As pleasant as dealing with The Joker personally sounded that delicious little thought would have to be kept on the back burner as right behind the 5 of them the doors leading into the Stargazing Chamber were suddenly filled with the crowd Harley had tried to mention moments ago before Joker's wicked outburst hindered her. Cold, Mark and Lisa all turned their bodies around to look at the approaching horde and part of Cold wished he really hadn't bothered. Trouble had officially arrived.

Making their way through the doorway with an almost too confident swagger to their walk were none other than Professor Pyg, both of the Abramovici twins and a crowd of identical looking Doll-O-trons. The Doll-O-Trons were all carrying assorted blunt weapons, The Abramovici twins were holding onto their respective weapons, namely the Hammer and the Sickle, and staring towards the 3 Rogues and the two Clowns with a unmistakable malice visible in their beady eyes. Pyg himself was oddly enough not actually holding a weapon, but an old and clunky looking boombox.

__"GOOD EVENING TO ALL MY PRECIOUS LITTLE SUCKLING BABES!"__ The Pig masked individual projected to the entire auditorium as he stumbled forward ahead of the crowd behind him with his arms flung into the air and a demented looking grimace present on his still badly bruised and swollen looking features. Axel really __"PYG HAS ARRIVED TO INFORM YOU THAT THE MAN MASKED IN SCORCHED SHADOWS HAS ORDERED YOUR GRISLY DEMISE!"__

__"Oh fuck."__ Mark muttered, looking towards Cold and Lisa to gauge their reactions.

__"You've got to be kidding me..."__ Lisa muttered aloud as the three Rogues bundled together, preparing themselves for the inevitable storm that was about to hit.

* * *

Mick made a disgusted noise as he roughly wiped his blood soaked hands down along his dirty grey jumpsuit. After Axel's little plan had turned out to be nothing more than making as much noise as possible both Rogues had to improvise a way to clear the path to Hartley. A couple of gas bombs, broken necks, black eyes and scorched corpses later and the hallway had been cleared somewhat successfully.

Placing his hands on his hips and taking in the sight of the massacre around him, Mick gazed around the blood and gore-slicked walls with an oddly proud look on his face. Pretty good work, if he did say so himself. Turning his attention down towards Axel, Mick punched the smaller males arm lightly and beamed down at him as he spoke.

__"Gotta say kid, now i'm the one who's impressed. That was some Grade-A work."__ Mick said, wiping a tiny speckle of blood away from the corner of his mouth as he spoke. Next to him, Axel blushed slightly and shrugged his shoulders.

__"You weren't too bad yourself Smokey. Who knew setting folk on fire could be so fun!"__ Axel replied almost sarcastically as he carefully stepped over a motionless masked figure on the floor and continued on through the bloodshed and towards the other end of the corridor.

__"What's this? The two of us actually getting along? Man, if the others could see us now."__ Mick chuckled away to himself as he stepped on and then over the corpse at his feet and continued on down the corridor following close behind Axel with his Heat-Gun primed in his hands, ready to fire at a moments notice.

Both the males continued to silently sneak their way through the now eerily silent hallways of the basement until they came to a large, solid metal door with a somewhat conveniently placed sign saying 'Holding Cells' hanging lazily from it. Mick instinctively turned to Axel with a raised eyebrow, who in response gave the older male a confused look and simpley shrugged his shoulders. Mick pursed his lips and extended a hand out to grab the handle of the door, giving it a small shoogle before sighing when it indeed turned out that the door was in fact sealed shut.

__"Hey, y'never know with The Joker. It could've been open..."__ Mick said defensively as next to him, Axel reached into the pocket of his leather coat and withdrew what looked like an ordinary smiley-face sticker.

__"I agree, but how about we try a more direct approach this time?"__ Axel said with a menacing sounding chuckle as he delicately stripped the plastic sealing off the back of the sticker and then slammed it down firmly on to the lock of the solid looking door.

Wrapping an arm around Micks, Axel begun slowly stepping back into the blood soaked hallway and further away from the now stickered door. Mick let himself be dragged backwards, looking down towards the smaller male with utter confusion written all over his face as he allowed himself to be forced away from The Joker's prison.

__"You might wanna step back for this next part Smokey. S'about to get real loud..."__ Axel muttered as he reached back into his pocket and withdrew what looked to be a home-made trigger. Smiling as he prepared himself, Axel's index finger hovered delicately over the trigger.

"__And here we go in 3... 2... 1..."__

* * *

Around the room, the 8 Gun-toting Clowns all instinctively trained their weapons on the screeching psychopath making his way into the main Stargazing Chamber, forcing a shocked sounding squeal out of the obese man and a series of unnerving giggles from the faceless dolls behind him. Cold never knew the monsters could emote, for a second he really did feel sorry for them. Meanwhile, right behind Pyg both of the Abramovici twins remained oddly stoic, their eyes continuing to burn holes into both The Joker and the still trembling Harley Quinn wrapped in his arms.

__"Boys, go get changed! That little piggy won't be any trouble..."__ The Joker announced to the 8 gunmen lined around the room. At first they seemed almost as if they were all going to actually dare to question The Jokers line of command, but sure enough they all deciding it best not to question their notoriously unhinged leader. Not making a sound, the gunmen lowered their weapons and sauntered off towards the back of the room and out of sight.

This was quickly spiraling out of control. Why did the Joker just dismiss his own men? Cold had to get Mark and Lisa out of there now, but how?

__"Oh Victor! My dear, dear sweet Vikky, is this any way to play with daddy?"__ The Joker spoke plainly as he threw Harley from his arms and back down onto the floor, his terrifying green eyes darting forward and locking with those of the Hammer bearing giant. Cold recalled Black Mask mentioning that The Joker had an odd hatred for cheaters, he didn't really wanna think what The Clown thought of traitors. Across from the Rogues, the Grinning Ghoul that called himself 'The Joker' continued to slowly inch his way closer and closer towards the Black Mask's forces, placing both hands tightly behind his back as he went.

__"Didn't i treat you well when you were working for me? I mean you got dental for Christ sake, which you CLEARLY never took advantage off if the smell is anything to go on, Haha!__" The Joker cackled, much to the apparent annoyance of the Hammer-holding Brute lurking in the doorway.

__"ухмыляясь ублюдок! You never were that funny boss man"__ The Hammer Abramovici spat venomously towards the approaching clown, much to the apparent amusement of his Twin and Professor Pyg. Cold's eyes shot open and he turned to look to the Joker, who at this point had stopped dead in his tracks and was looking forward onto the twin with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Oh shit, did he just talk down to The Joker?

Eventually snapping out of his sudden haziness, The Joker tilted his head back and choked out a harsh sounding laugh as he took a single step forward towards the gaggle of monsters stood blocking his doorway, his emerald eyes burning with an unnerving intensity as he continued to eye up his prey now just a dozen or so steps before him.

__"Said the pot to the kettle, but i digress. Here's a little joke for ya Vikky! Whats peachy, tattooed and covered in gore?"__ The Joker snarled, his right eye twitching and shoulders already shaking as he failed to suppress a wicked sounding laugh. Across the room, Cold grabbed both Mark and Lisa's wrists and begun dragging them further away from the Joker as the clown man begun tinkering with something tucked away in the helm of his pants.

__"Ваши трюки не будет работать клоуном, я слишком умный для Вас!"__ The Abramovic Twin boomed in reply to The Joker, who in turn rolled his eyes.

__"D'aww, wrong answer m'afraid Vikky ma boy!"__ He spoke, disappointment lacing his tone as all of a sudden, the Joker removed his hand from down the back of his trousers and withdrew an over-sized bright purple pistol from somewhere within his britches. Taking aim at the Hammer's head, The Joker barked out a single, psychotic 'Ha!' and pulled the trigger, firing a single shot directly at his former employee's face.

A blood-curdling shot was heard around the room as a long sharp looking pole fired from the long stock of the madman's weapon and tore through the air and towards it's goal. Although he didn't get a fantstic look at it, Cold could have swore the pole had a smooth circular base to it and seemed to have a blood red button on the bottom of the base.

Not having a single millisecond to properly react, The Pole made a nightmare enducing squelching noise as it effortless glided through the Victor Abramovici's thick skull like scissors tearing through a crisp sheet of paper. The projectile continued on through his skull, stopping only the widened base prevented it from going any further. Making only a slight gurgling noise as he sunk to his knees, The Hammer bearing Abramovici twin finally fell forward and collapsed onto the dirty floor of the Observatory with a sickening crunching noise. As his head smashed off the floor, the button at the base of the flattened bottom smashed into the ground and the tip of the pole suddenly sprung open. At the top of the pole sticking out the gaping wound at the back of his head, a teeny-tiny 'BANG!' flag begun waving from it's new home embedded in the now deceased Russians skull.

__"The answer was 'Your Head' Vikky. And here i thought i was meant to be the unfunny one! Hahaha!"__ The Joker cackled maniacally as he waved the still smoking pistol around whimsically in the air. Around the room everyone bar Harley Quinn, who by now had once again made her way back over to The Joker, had come to a complete halt and was staring at the motionless heap laying in a pool of his own blood with various shocked expressions all over their faces.

Back with the crowd hanging around insidiously in the doorway, Pyg squealed in surprise as he watched his henchman fall and the still breathing Sickle-bearing Abramovici Twin roared like a wild beast at the loss of his brother. The Doll-O-Trons all begun muttering among themselves although their eyes never faltered from staring ahead towards the still cackling madman stood in the dead center of the room.

Without even looking at each other, Lisa and Cold begun to carefully ready the weapons in their hands to prepared for the now inevitable battle. Meanwhile, Cold looked up through the massive glass ceiling and saw thin grey clouds slowly beginning to appear overhead as Mark too prepared for the worst.

Oh god, why couldn't anything they do ever be easy?

* * *

With a deafening boom, the seemingly innocent sticker Axel had placed onto the door of the Prison exploded, filling the entire hallway with a flurry of dancing flames and a thick grey smoke. For a moment it didn't seem like the impossibly thick plume of smoke was ever going to fade, but eventually the further it spread the thinner it seemed to get.

Up back where they started, Mick was crouched down in the furthest away corner with his index fingers jammed into his ears to try and stop the explosion from completely destroying his eardrums. It proved mostly successful, but Mick was less than impressed that he couldn't quite shake a grating ringing noise from his ears.

__"If that blast has given me tinnitus then i'm gonna be forced to kick seven shades of shit out of ya, y'know that right?"__ Mick bellowed roughly, his voice oddly heavy as he attempted to level out his hearing after the horrendous sounding blast.

__"Blah Blah Blah!"__ Axel teased as he slipped two tiny sponge earbuds out of his ears and tossed them down onto the blood stained concrete below without a second glance.

__"Enough chit-chat already, lets get Hartley out before that blast brings more of those creeps raining down on us!"__ Axel hollered back over his shoulder as he took off sprinting towards the now wide open entrance into the Joker's prison. Mick went to say something back but stopped when he realized that Axel was right. While the blast had proven successful, it would have almost certainly grabbed the attention of everyone in the place, maybe even The Joker himself. TIme was of the essence.

Up at the now completely decimated entrance into the cells, Axel timidly stepped over the smoking debris and into the room, holding a balled fist up to his mouth and coughing as he stepped into the still surprisingly smokey room. Axel couldn't see a damn thing in here, maybe blowing the door open wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Jesus Christ, i can't see a damn thing in here..." Axel muttered to himself as he continued to blindly stumble around the hazy cells.

Standing outside learning against the massive crater in the wall, Mick was yet to actually step into the cells after Axel, currently finding himself much more concerned with trying to eliminate the god awful ringing from his ears than actually helping his obnoxious companion find the missing Piper.

At that moment Mick still had both his index fingers planted in his ears and was tensing and then un-tensing his jaw in a rhythmic fashion in a last ditch effort to actually 'pop' his ears, a little trick his mother had taught him years ago if he remembered correctly. Just when he thought that he could feel his ears finally beginning to return to normal Axel let out an overly shrill scream from within the cloudy cell. Just like that, the buzzing noise filled Micks ears once more, only this time with a horrible vengeance. Oh, that little twerp was dead.

Leaping over the broken wall with one effortless bound, Mick charged into the room and towards the noise, spotting Axel's hazy figure not too far ahead. Lurching forward and grasping the back of Axel's leather jacket, Mick yanked the smaller male back towards himself with unnecessary force.

__"What the fuck do you think you're playing at you little twerp! Huh? HUH?"__ Mick screamed into The Tricksters ear, shaking him back and forth furiously as he did so.

__"Lo-lo-look in front of you-u you twat!"__ Axel spat back at Mick in an aggressive tone as he shakily raised his hand and pointed ahead of himself and into the cloudy haze surrounding them.

Letting Axel go, Mick narrowed his eyes and did his best to try and see just what had gotten his companion so spooked. At first he saw nothing and decided that he was going to thump the other male for pulling his leg. However, the longer he stared ahead into the abyss something ahead finally begun to take shape. As it grew clearer and clearer, Mick's jaw fell to the floor and his eyes sprung wide open.

__"What the fuck..."__ Mick whispered as not 10 feet away from where he and Axel were currently standing stood no one else but Hartley Rathaway, secured in place against the furthest away wall by a series of bloodied barbed wires wrapped tightly around his wrists, ankles and torso to make sure that escape was impossible. From what Mick could see, the male seemed to be unconscious and was only standing thanks to the barbaric wraps holding him up. Judging by the awful marks around his neck, there had been a wire wrapped around there too that had been removed fairly recently.

Piper was almost entirely covered in blood and his once pink skin was the palest shade of white Mick had ever seen on a person.

__"Oh god, he ain't looking too good Mick... i think... i think we might be too late...__"Axel said with an undeniable hesitance to his tone as he forced himself to step forward closer to their hopefully unconscious friend.

Hartley couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be... could he?

* * *

__"Uh-oh, Victor made a mess. Old Man Sionis ain't gonna like that..."__ Pyg said, tutting to himself almost disapprovingly as he gave the corpse at his feet a slight nudge with his foot. Next to him, the Sickle wielding giant continued to stare daggers towards the Joker with an unbridled fury clearly visible as his body literally shook with anger.

__"ANYWAY! As i was saying before i was so RUDELY interrupted..."__ Pyg said, continuing his insane ramblings and acting as though he hadn't just witness one of his employees brains be blown out just a few moment prior. __"The shadow man himself had sentenced you all to death, especially you Pennywise! Especially you!"__ Pyg snarled, pointing directly towards the Joker, who in turn rolled his eyes at the Pyg's proclamation.

__"Luckily for you lot, i'm more than capable of making it as painful for you as physically possible..."__ As Pyg continued to ramble, a Doll-O-Tron begun pushing it's way forward and out of the crowd and walked right up to Pyg, carrying something heavy looking in its burly arms. The Pig-Masked fiend winked at the Doll-O-Tron and placed the boombox down onto the floor before gratefully accepted the clunky and extremely deadly looking object The faceless monstrosity had handed to him.

"__No fuckin' way, Is that a chains...__" Mark begun, before the sound of Pyg revving up the large, blood soaked chainsaw filled the room with that all too familiar gut-wrenching screeching noise, both interrupting and confirming Mark's train of though.

__"Because after all, what is beauty without a little pain!"__ Pyg screech as he swung the buzzing Chainsaw around in the air like it was as light as a feather. Behind him, the Doll-O-Trons all began pacing forward towards The Rogues and the Clowns standing at the other end of the room. Perhaps most unnervingly of all, The Sickle Abramovici twin cracked a wide terrifying grin as he too took off charging towards the Joker, his weapons held tightly in his strong arm as he quickly drew nearer and nearer to where the both The Joker and The Rogues all stood, all apparently frozen on the spot.

"__PENELOPE! MY SHAPELY BEAUTY, I THINK THIS PARTY REQUIRES SOME MUSIC__!" Pyg snarled, turning his head over his shoulder and glancing towards the one Doll-O-Tron left behind him, who instantly stepped forward and pressed play on the boombox at her master's command.

"__YESSSSSS! SEXY! DISCO! HOT!__" Pyg tossed his head back and screamed psychotically as a throbbing baseline of Lady Gaga's 'Swine' begin to spill from the boombox, filling the room up with it's oddly exhilarating tones. Pyg licked his lips feverishly and begun bouncing up and down on the spot, apparently getting quite into the music.

"__READY OR NOT YOU LITTLE SHITS, HERE COMES DADDY!__" Pyg roared as he too begun lurching forward towards the Clowns and the Rogues with both hands wrapped tightly around the grip of the saw as he raised it into the air, preparing himself to instantly issue a fatal swing into anyone who dared to get close enough to him to actually get caught in the line of fire.

Across the room, Cold, Mark and Lisa instantly shook themselves out of their complacency and readied themselves for the fight of their lives. Cold pointed the tip of his Cold-Gun forward towards the terrifying crowd of monsters that was quickly springing towards him and his companions. Besides him, Lisa's Gold-Gun whirled in her hands and Marks eyes were quickly turning completely chalk white as thunder could be heard booming dangerously just above their heads.

Why couldn't things go their way just once?


	10. The One Where They Have A Dance-Off

No. No No No No No. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be. The Rogues hadn't come all the way to this hellish city, fought through hordes of faceless monsters, screwed over Mob Bosses and went toe-to-toe with the Clown Prince of Crime himself only to come up empty handed. Had they?

With Mick's encouragement, and by that he meant less than playful shoving, Axel inched closer towards the unconscious frame hanging limp in the barbed-wire wraps. Oh god, this didn't look good. Forcing himself to swallow down an unusually thick wad of saliva, Axel reached out with a shaky hand and gently poked two fingers into the body's battered and darkly bruised shoulders. He waited a few moments before tutting to himself. Nothing.

Exhaling somewhat tiredly, Axel took yet another step closer and then jabbed his fingers back into Hartley's shoulders, this time much sharper than the time before. Still nothing.

Feeling his stomach beginning to turn, Axel threw caution to the wind and slammed his fist hard into the hopefully unconscious Piper's shoulder, hoping that a slice of his trademark violence would shake the boy before him out of whatever state he was in. Unfortunately for Axel though, nothing happened. Turning his head over his shoulder, Axel looked back upon Mick with watery eyes and a shaky bottom lip, his hands fidgeting around with the metal spikes on the lapel of his jacket anxiously as he spoke.

"Oh god Mick, i... i... i think he's dead." Axel begun, his voice wavering as he spoke. However both the Rogues never really had time to let his emotions truly manifest themselves as from behind Axel, a weak and labored sounding cough suddenly erupted from the limp figure hanging in the bonds.

"Axel, I'm not dead... you clueless ass..." The brunette muttered from behind them, wincing painfully as he forced himself to his feet, the bloodied barbed wire successfully slicing both his ankles just a little bit deeper than before as he pushed himself into an upright position.

Leaping forward and wrapping his arms around The Piper's battered frame, Axel hugged Hartley tightly and shook him about in his grasp, another painful groan escaping Pipers mouth as the bonds still wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles dug in deeper the more Axel shook him.

"Holy shit dude! I thought you were dead!" Axel cheered triumphantly, his arms still wrapped tightly around Hartley's torso as he beamed up at him, apparently refusing to let him go. "I mean, i never thought i'd be so happy to hear you were alive! I always hated you to be fair but man, this is so damn aweso..."

Interrupting Axel mid-rant, Hartley turned his head lazily to look into the Tricksters eyes and swallowed harshly.

"Axel, just... just Cut the... theatrics for god sake... and... get me out of here..."

**"Be That Hog! Sweat it out you squealer!**

** (Let your body jiggle!)"**

If Cold never heard another fucking Lady Gaga song again in his lifetime then he'd be a happy man. The battle around him had went from Zero to Sixty in no time at all. From what Cold could guess, they'd only been fighting for something like 2 minutes and already the desolate wasteland that was the Observation Chamber was somehow worse than it had been before. A single stray lightening bolt from the terrifying storm Mark was brewing up outside had shattered the massive glass ceiling above only moments ago and while it seemed like all the main players in the room had somehow managed to survive the hail of glass without being impaled it had successfully disposed of one or two Doll-O-Trons, so that was something at least.

Aiming as best he could before firing a single shot from his gun, Cold pumped his fist proudly as the blast connected with an approaching Doll-O-Tron's head and stopped the creature dead in its tracks. The beast froze and pawed at the ice sealing it's face before it tumbled down onto the cold concrete flooring of the Observatory with a hollow smash. Cold grimaced at the sight. It seemed that this city would never fail to disgust him.

Looking above him briefly, Cold made a concerned face when he saw the heavy looking black clouds swirling around overhead, the air static around him as Mark's defensive storm continued to generate power at an alarmingly quick rate. With the roof now gone there was the added threat of a rogue bolt of lightening striking them down too. Things just kept getting better and better tonight didn't they?

**"Slap her skin-he, LOVES to watch her ass go 'wiggle'!**

** (It's the feel of ecstasy!)"**

Not wasting another moment, Cold turned his head around the room desperately looking for any sign of his companions.

Lisa was currently going toe-to-toe with 'The Sickle' Abramovici and appeared to have the upper hand if the massive gold deposits covering the Sickle's exposed torso like shrapnel were anything to go on. Trust Lisa to go head to head with the most aggressive and dangerous thing in the room and do so with a smile.

Meanwhile Mark was currently caught right in the center of a brawl between Harley Quinn and several Doll-O-Trons. While Cold couldn't be sure, it almost looked as if Harley and Mark were working together to hold off the monstrous horde. Typical Mark, making friends everywhere he went.

Firing another blast from his gun to spook off another few dangerously close Doll-O-Trons, Cold got back to work and started trying to deal with the more pressing issue at hand besides his family's well being. That's not to say he didn't care about them, but as heartless as it sounded it did make sense, to Cold anyway. Lisa and Mark were really not his biggest concern at the moment. Cold had worked with them for years now and knew without a shadow of a doubt that they could handle themselves in a fight, their brawl with Grodd a few months ago had proven that. Right now however Cold had to focus on one thing and one thing alone, finding The Joker and Professor Pyg among the chaos before him.

**"** **Maybe i should have a little more just to stay out of my mind?**

It didn't take long to spot the mad professor, the horrendous sound of the buzzing saw was a dead giveaway, currently located not too far off of Harley and Mark's current position, tearing his way through absolutely anything that dared to get into his way while he still had that hellish chainsaw grasped firmly in his meaty paws. Harley and Mark seemed far too preoccupied to have actually spotted that Pyg was quickly heading towards them. That wasn't good.

As much as seeing Pyg put that terrifying feeling of dread back into his stomach, more worryingly was the fact that Cold couldn't actually spot where exactly The Joker had slipped off to. While his interaction's with the self-professed 'Clown Prince of Crime' had been kept to a minimum so far, he'd heard countless gory stories of his antics. As soon as he'd dealt with the problem at hand - namely Pyg - he'd have to book it double time to find the clown before he did something the Rogues would regret.

Raising his gun into the air and aiming directly for the mad professor's head, Cold's tongue peaked slightly out the corner of his mouth as he pressed down the trigger and fired a perfect white shot of sheer ice right towards Pyg. Unfortunately for Cold though, the ice blast only just skimmed the tip of the mad-mans mask before slapping into the wall behind him with a light crunching noise.

Choking out a strained sounding chortle before snapping his head over to look into Cold's eyes, Pyg tipped his head back and let out a low guttural screech as he immediately took off away from Mark and Harley and towards Cold.

Ah shit.

**"'Cause it's when i'm not thinkin' with you that i act like a swine!**

**Act like a swine! ACT LIKE A SWINE!"** **"**

Cold cursed out loud as he narrowly managed to duck in time to avoid a particularly vicious swing from Pyg's chainsaw decapitating him in one fell swoop. Scrambling away to try and distance himself from the psychopath, Cold swung his arm around his back and fired a single shot of ice from his gun. Pyg in turn managed to duck down and avoided the blast, cackling like a man possessed as he did so.

Salivating at the mouth, Pyg carelessly threw the chainsaw to the wayside before lurching forward and tackling Cold to the ground. Both males rolled around on the floor in a mad struggle for supremacy with Cold thumping the bloodied wraps on the side of Pyg's head with tremendous force before Pyg suddenly smashed his head forward and collided with Cold's, momentarily stunning him and successfully managing to secure Pyg the upper-hand. Wasting no time, the obese males thrust forward and pressed his knees down impossibly hard onto Cold's forearms and wrapped his chubby digits tightly around Cold's neck.

"You want my diagnosis? You're a lost cause sweetheart. A deeply disturbed introvert with even deeper psychosis, relating mostly to a bad childhood and an... abusive father? Tell me, am i onto something with that line of thought?" Pyg snarled manically as he continued to tighten his grip around Colds neck. Beneath him, Cold's legs were flailing wildly in a desperate attempt to throw the heavy-set male off of him, however the longer the man pressed into his throat the dizzier he felt and the hazier his vision got.

Oh god, Pyg was killing him.

**"I know, i know, i know, i know you want me!**

**You're just a pig inside a human body!"**

"Shame really, such a pretty face doesn't deserve to be held back by age-old inhibitions..." Pyg added as he leaned in closer to Cold's face, his mouth hanging open haphazardly and drool dripping lazily from his lips down onto Cold's jaw. By now Cold could feel his heart-rate slowing down and his vision was almost completely blacked out. His kicking was doing absolutely nothing to hinder Pyg's attack and with the psychopath pressing all his weight down onto his arms he couldn't even feel them, never mind move them. This was it, he was going to die.

"You alright down there baby? You ain't saying much... oh well, perhaps when i ask your sister about your Father she'll be more co-operative than you've been..."

Hearing the plump professor even daring to mention Lisa made Cold's blood boil and his vision almost instantly switched from Black to a deep blood red. Adrenaline begun powering through his veins and he could feel his teeth grating against themselves in his mouth. Oh that had done it, this creep wasn't leaving the Observatory in one piece.

Summoning every ounce of strength he had left in him, Cold suddenly thrust his head forward and clamped down harshly on Pyg's lower lip, the abhorrent coppery taste of blood poured into his open mouth as his teeth tore through the Swine's flesh almost too easily. On top of him, Pyg's eyes suddenly sprung wide open and he let out a blood-curdling screech. Clearly panicked, Pyg began shaking his head, desperately trying to force Cold off of him to no avail. This continued for a few brief moments before -foolishly - Pyg threw himself backwards and off of Cold, who in turn bit down harder and managed to tear off an obscene chunk of Pyg's lower lip in the process.

**"Squealer! Squealer! SQUEAL OUT! **

**You're so disgusting! You're just a pig inside!"**

Quickly rising to is feet and then stumbling around the room like a drunkard, Pyg continued to squeal with both his hands pressed tightly to the now fountain of blood spilling from his mouth. The professor's horrifying shrieks of agony filling the air, drowning out the hypnotic baseline of the song still playing in the background. Meanwhile, the fight around the room showed no signs of stopping.

Still on the ground, Cold spat the chunk of the other's lip to the floor with a splotching noise before he raised a shaky arm up to his lips in a pathetic attempt to try and wipe the other man's blood from his tanned skin. Cold's head was pounding and his entire body was shaking. His chest felt as though someone were pressing an 500 pound weight into it and his vision was still mostly black due to lack of oxygen. Groaning silently to himself, Cold somehow flipped over onto his stomach and then managed to push himself up onto his hands and knees before emptying the contents of his stomach out onto the concrete below, his eyes burning and stomach aching as he painfully wretched his guts up. Oh dear god, had he actually just done that?

"Oh you horrible little cunt..." Pyg snarled somewhere not to far behind him."My beautiful face, ruined by some uncultured peon with bad taste in jackets and even worse skin...".

**"Do ya? I know! I know! I Know you want me! **

**You're just a pig inside a human body!"**

Still facing away from the malevolent masked fiend, Cold had the sense to grab his Cold-Gun up from the floor before standing up and turning to look towards Pyg, who by now had begun making his way back towards the abandoned chainsaw with a thick trail of blood and what looked to be shreds of gum following on behind him. Cold wretched again and thanked god that he seemed to have brought everything up already.

His body still desperately trying to recover from the Pig mans brutal assault just moments ago, Cold tried and failed to suck in a steady breath as he aimed his weapon directly at the back of Pyg's head, his finger pressed against the trigger lightly just looking for any excuse to open fire and end the Professor's reign of terror once and for all.

"Drop your weapon Pyg! It's over!" Cold shouted towards the broad figure still facing in the opposite direction, hoping that his aggressive tone was managing to cover how truly terrified he really was.

**"Squealer! Squealer! SQUEAL OUT! **

**You're so disgusting! You're just a pig inside!"**

"Over? Oink-Oink indeed..." Pyg muttered, turning around to face Cold with the chainsaw now grasped firmly within his blood-soaked digits once again. As he stared as Cold with dead brown eyes from beneath his terrifying mask, blood continued to pour like a geyser from the massive missing section of his bottom lip. Pyg's yellow, rotten teeth were now clearly visible from behind the bloodied shreds of skin that Pyg called a bottom lip. Once again Cold gagged at the sight and raised his free hand up to cover his mouth.

Even looking at the gash made Cold feel sick to his stomach. Had he really done that? Cold knew he wasn't exactly the most reputable sort, but was he really capable of doing that level of damage to someone just for mentioning his sister? True the man in question was a murderous psychopath, but did that really justify the means? Maybe Cold was more like his father than he cared to really admit?

This self-depreciating train of thought was cut short however at the sound of Pyg revving the chainsaw once more, the man managing a spine-chilling sneer with the remainder of his lips as he begun waving the chainsaw around carelessly in the air.

"Why Elsa, It hasn't even begun!"

**SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE! SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE! **

Across the room from Cold, Mark and Harley had successfully managed to get a moment to breathe after dealing with the apparently endless oncoming horde of Doll-O-Trons. Turning his head over his shoulder to congratulate his unofficial team-mate, Mark paused when he found himself alone once more. At that moment in time Harley was skipping across the room with a baseball bat in hand apparently off to help Lisa out with disposing of the Sickle wielding Abramovici twin, although from what Mark could see Lisa was handling herself just fine. Immediately taking off after the Clown Girl to provide support anyway, with the room now clear of Doll-O-Trons in the corner of his eye Mark managed to spot Lenny and Pyg going at it across the room. From what he could see things weren't looking to good for Lenny. Even though Pyg's mouth had literally been torn wide open Cold was covered in blood and shaking like a leaf in the wind, failing to maintain his cool. What the fuck had happened over there?

Turning his body around to face where Cold and Pyg were posturing like wild animals, Mark looked up through the shattered glass ceiling of the main Observation Chamber and saw that the black clouds above were now literally quaking with unused power. His endgame was finally ready.

**SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE! SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE! **

Around the room, the singing from Pyg's boombox had stopped and the instrumental begun building higher and higher towards a drop, just moments way from reaching the precipice. How appropriate, Mark thought to himself.

Smirking as he raised a hand into the air, Mark narrowed his eyes directly onto Professor Pyg and slowed his breathing, focusing everything he had on the Swine-Masked Fiend across the room. He could do this, he'd hit The Flash with one for gods sake, how hard could hitting an obese man wearing a Pig mask be? That said, Len was standing awful close to the other. Mark swallowed down dryly and tried his best to shake off any feelings of uncertainty. He'd just have to be a little more careful than usual is all.

Deciding it best not to dwell on the logistics, Mark shut his eyes tight and swung his arm down towards the floor, a massive bolt of burning white lightening seemingly mimicking his movements as it crashed down through the shattered ceiling above and collided with Pyg in a burst of blinding light that effortlessly engulfed the whole room.

**SWINE!**

Moments later when the light had finally dissipated, Mark looked over to where Cold and Pyg had been brawling and let out a loud sigh of relief as he saw Pyg's smoking corpse, although considering what he'd lived through already Mark doubted that the man was really dead, lying on the floor in a messy heap in front of a still shaking Len, who turned and looked over at Mark with his usually tanned features looking oddly pale. Cold honestly couldn't tell what he was more thankful for, Mark disposing of Pyg or the fact the electric pulse from the lightening had broken Pyg's boombox.

Dropping his weapon back down to his side and finally cracking a grin, Cold opened his mouth to say something snarky towards his savior when a single ear-splitting shot echoed loud through the room.

Cold's eyes sprung open and he begun frantically looking around the room for the source of the sound, and more importantly where the shot had hit. Instinctively he looked towards his sister, who was standing tall and proud next to Harley Quinn in front of a solid gold statue that Cold presumed was the remains of the Sickle Abramovici twin. Cold sighed aloud and smiled faintly, at least Lisa was alright. However before he felt his nerves calm down just yet he looked back over towards Mark and felt his stomach drop at the sight. Oh no.

Standing in the center of the room with both his hands clutched tightly to his stomach and a look of pure dread all over his face, Mark looked at Cold with wide eyes, Cold's gut clenching instinctively at what he saw reflected so clearly in the taller males usually stony hues. Pure fear.

"Lenny, what just happened... oh fu..." Mark begun before sinking down onto his knee's with a thud, blood beginning to seep from between his fingertips and down onto the ground below.

Behind Mark and in the doorway leading out into yet another wing of the Abandoned Observatory stood none other than The Joker, holding a smoking magnum between his gloved fingertips and wearing that awful sickening grin on his face. Behind him stood countless of his Clown-Masked henchmen, all now wearing thick body armor and sporting newer, deadlier looking weapons in their grubby mitts.

"Oops, clumsy me." The Joker begun, carelessly tossing the gun to the wayside as he stepped out of the doorway and into the light of the moon-lit Observatory, his feet crunching down on the shards of shattered glass covering the entire room as he continued on.

"I meant to kill him, not maim him! Oh well, we can't win 'em all."

The Joker bragged, continuing on into the room and closer towards where Mark had collapsed. Reacting instantly, both Cold and Lisa rocketed forward and stopped just behind their fallen comrade, both siblings standing side by side with their respective weapons pointed directly at the Joker's grinning visage.

"Honestly Cappy, do we really need to do it this way? You must've known i was going to kill you! Lex specifically asked me not to, but since when have i ever listened to what 'ol Melon Head has to say?" The Mountebank sneered at Cold, his eyes wild looking and body language oddly tense, contrasting the relaxed grin on his face.

Cold opened his mouth to shout something back at the clown, but stopped himself at the last second. Behind them, Mark was bleeding out and antagonizing the clown into a shoot-out was just going to do nothing else make assure that Mark wouldn't be making it home to Central City alive. If there was even the slightest chance Cold could somehow talk their way out of this then he'd would have to try.

"You don't have to do anything at all Joker. We can just leave, no one has to get hurt. We can just walk away and that will be that..." He said while taking a step back and tending to Mark. Grabbing Marks arm and placing it over his shoulder's, Cold carefully heaved Mark off the floor and onto his feet.

"C'mon buddy, get up. You're not dead yet..." Cold whispered.

Regardless of what happened next, he refused to leave the taller male behind They'd either all die in this godforsaken Observatory or they'd all make it out alive, there was no other option.

While Cold did his best to help Mark up onto his feet, Lisa continued to stare the clown down with an icy look in her eyes and her gun ready to fire.

"You really don't want to do this friend. Let us walk and that'll be it. 'Kay handsome?" Lisa said almost too sweetly.

"Do you really think flattery is going to work on me? My boys spotted your friends sneaking around the basement while we were discussing terms you dolt! You really think you can just come into MY HOUSE AND MESS WITH ME? THE CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME HIMSELF?" The thin white duke screeched at the Snart Siblings, his eyes wide and burning with an unbridled fury. Oh god Lisa, why did you have to open your mouth?

"BOYS! TAKE OUT THE TRASH!" The Joker announced to the countless armed men standing in the doorway. "NO SURVIVORS!"

* * *

Back outside at the van, Axel sprinted ahead and opened the back doors to the large vehicle to allow Mick - trailing not to far behind hauling a barely conscious Hartley over his shoulder - room to maneuver the smaller male into the van. It took some effort, but with Axel's help Mick was able to lay Hartley down gently onto the backseat of the van without disturbing the sleeping male too much. Never in his life did Mick think he'd be taking extra care to assure that Hartley Rathaway was comfortable, but if this trip to Gotham had taught him anything it was to expect the unexpected.

Laying down on the spongy chairs of the van, Hartley continued to dip in and out of consciousness at an alarming rate. The kid had a wicked fever, was covered in deep -and probably infected - lacerations and was a pint or two away from bleeding out. If they'd arrived any later than what they did then the kid would have definitely been a goner.

"Oh god, you should've just left me, i don't deser..." Hartley started before his eyes crossed and his vision glazed over. Standing outside, Axel and Mick shared a confused look before turning their attention towards Hartley.

"I don't... i don't deserve to live..." Hartley continued, his eyes still glazed over and his face getting whiter and whiter. "I don't deserve to live... i helped him, oh god... i actually helped him."

Both Axel and Mick's eyes went wide at that last part. Hartley helped the Joker? That couldn't be right. Surely that was just the fever talking, right? Stepping forward and popping his head into the van, Mick looked down towards the barely conscious Hartley and begun speaking.

"Kid, i need you to try and focus. What are you talking about? Did you do something for Joker? Did you help him?" Mick said as softly as possible while Axel hovered behind him nervously.

"I didn't wa... didn't want to. He made me do it. Oh god, he's gonna..." Hartley said, his voice growing weaker and weaker sounding as the seconds skittered past.

"He's gonna kill everyone..."

* * *

Cold's would describe how he felt in that exact moment as 'blind panic' as he continued to force his way through the dilapidated Observatory as fast as his feet would carry them. Normally this sort of situation wouldn't have been such a problem, but after what had just went down in the other room with The Joker it was safe to say that Mark wasn't in such good shape. The taller males eyes were half-shut and unfocused as he haphazardly clung onto Cold with one arm around the smaller males shoulder and the other clutching his own gut, blood gushing from the still fresh wound with every step the pair took. Behind them, the wild screeches and howls of the Clown-Masked gang chasing them filled the air with an unmistakable feeling of dread. The sound was drawing closer by the second. Cold had to think of something fast.

A few minutes prior back in the Main Chamber, the masked men instantly begun acting out the Joker's will and opened fire on the three Rogues. Using their collective quick wit and all the luck they had, the three had somehow managed to push their way out of the main Observation Chamber and out onto the hallway relatively unscathed. However with the gang in hot pursuit Cold had told - or more accurately, commanded - Lisa to get back to the van and get help ASAP. Since he was carrying Mark he really couldn't do much of anything besides try and find a safe spot to get the other male patched up and as much as it killed him to admit it, Lisa was his only hope. Although hesitant at first, Lisa had took off without a word, sprinting down the stairs of the Observatory and into the darkness.

Looking briefly over his shoulder, Cold fired a stream of ice from his gun without really aiming, the glistening snowy substance slicing through the air and colliding with four of the countless Masked freaks chasing after them, instantly sealing their assailant's up in a rock-hard container of solid ice. This however did nothing to hinder the rest of the oncoming horde who never even so much as glanced at their fallen companions as they continued their unrelenting pursuit of the two men.

Cold could feel himself being dragged down by the now almost motionless figure desperately clinging to him. Mark's normally tanned skin was quickly beginning to turn a sickly shade of white and his eyes were now completely glazed over. Mark's other hand was still cemented onto his stomach and the blood seeping through his finger's showed no signed of relenting. Mark was loosing too much blood at way too fast a rate. If Cold didn't get him sat down and tended to the wound in his stomach soon then there was a good chance that Mark wouldn't be making it back to Central City with the rest of the gang. Noticing an awfully convenient set of double doors just up ahead, Cold wrapped his arm around Marks waist and heaved him up properly as he took off towards the doors with as much speed as his tired feet could manage. Swinging his arm back around behind him, Cold fired another shot from his Cold-Gun, this time covering the floor with a slick layer of solid ice instead of focusing on the hired goons giving chase. The horde never seemed to noticed the ice being made beneath their feet and one by one they all lost their footing on the slippery concrete floor and crashed to the ground with a thunderous series of bumps and thuds.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity presented to him, Cold literally forced both himself and Mark forward and through the double doors, sprinting into the seemingly empty room and taking in their surroundings as fast as he possibly could. Okay, he could do this. They were in a large spacious room. It was dusty so it clearly hadn't really been used in a while. Two big windows, although they were on the second floor so they weren't much use as of now. A stack of large wooden boxes were to their left and three empty units were to their right, by the looks of things this had been used for storage at some point. Besides that there was nothing else worth noting. No way up or down besides the door they came through and that clearly wasn't an option. Walking Mark over towards the boxes and gently laying the male down against them, Cold turned his Cold-Gun towards the door and fired at it, covering the door into the room in a thick layer of solid ice. Outside the room, the horrific screeches of the wild mob grew louder once more as they approached and began pounding into the doorway to absolutely no avail. The ice wall Cold had built was far too strong for those imbeciles to crack, but knowing that lot they'd find a way in sooner or later. Although it was only a temporary solution to their problem it would have to suffice for the moment. Reaching into the right pocket of his Parka, Cold withdrew his mobile phone and speed-dialed the first number he could think of, Lisa's. The awful toneless beeping of the call sounded like thunder in Cold's already throbbing head and after what seemed like an eternity the tone lead to Lisa's voice-mail. That wasn't good. Cold could feel a sweat beginning to form all over his skin as he tried both Mick and Axel's mobiles too, both of whom's phone's also went straight to voice-mail after ringing out. It was official, Cold was panicking.

Dialing Lisa's phone once again, Cold began muttering countless obscenities under his breath as he awaited to see if the call was successful or not. Moments passed, and Cold let out a wild sounding grunt of sheer anger as Lisa's voice-message began playing in his ear once again. Doing his best to pull in a shaky and extremely uneven breath, Cold managed to somehow level his voice as he prepared to leave his message. Hopefully it would get to the others on time.

"Lisa, It's Lenny" Cold started, the anxiousness in his voice was palpable as he spoke. "Listen, Mark and I are trapped up on the second floor. It's not looking good. I've somehow managed to stall those assholes outside. Honestly though i don't know how long it's gonna be before they find a way in here. Mark's bleeding out so i'm gonna try and patch him up before they find a way in. We need your help NOW Lisa. Please... please just hurry."

And with that, Cold hung up the phone and turned towards Mark, his eyes still unfocused and his skin as white as a sheet, although since they had stopped running the bleeding seemed to have slowed right down to a manageable pace, which was something to be thankful for at least. Jogging up to the other Rogue, Cold shrugged out of his parka and slapped Mark harshly across the face, the sudden jolt of pain harshly dragging Mark out of his stupor and back into the waking world with a bang.

"Mark, i know it's difficult but you're gonna need to stay awake with me for this..." Cold said as he reached into the pocket in the lining of his jacket and withdrew what looked like a small makeshift first-aid kid. "'Cause big guy, this is gonna suck."

* * *

As Hartley's cryptic proclamation sunk in, both Axel and Mick took a step back away from the van to try and get some space. Hartley wasn't making any sense. Just what exactly had he done for The Joker?

"Shit Mick, what do you think he's talking about?" Axel said in an unusually timid tone.

"Fuck if i know. Doesn't sound good though... We've gotta tell Len." Mick said resolutely. Axel meerly nodded in agreement.

At the same time as their little discussion, both Axel and Mick almost jumped out of their skin in fright as Lisa suddenly fired herself out the main doors of the Observatory and slammed them shut behind her frantically. Her leather jacket was ripped up on the shoulder and her hair was a damn mess. It was the first time both males had seen her looking even slightly disheveled. It was an odd sight indeed.

Bounding forward and pointing her gun directly at the large frames now several feet behind her, Lisa fired a continuous stream of gold onto the door. Within seconds she had coated the entire door in a thick layer of the solid substance and had effectively sealed it shut, locking her masked pursuers inside. She was finally safe, for the moment anyway.

"Lisa, what the hell? Are you alright? What happened in there?" Mick shouted up towards the girl he thought of as his sister with concern almost dripping from his tone.

"We got to speak to The Joker, albeit briefly as Professor Pyg and the rest of Black Mask's goon's showed up again. That bastard kick-started a full scale gang war up in the Main Observation Chamber on Level 2. We duked it out with everyone and eventually gained the upper-hand, but Joker turned the tables on us. He shot Mark and we scattered. Len was carrying Mark away from The Joker when he told me to come find you two." Lisa wheezed out between ragged breaths, doubled over with her hands on her knees as she desperately tried to get his breath back.

"Wait, what happened to Mark?" Axel asked softly, the colour instantly draining from his face.

"The Joker shot him, we need to hurry guys, we need to get back in there and help them out!" Lisa said, her tone growing increasingly more aggressive as she went on, the stress finally appearing to take it's toll on her.

While Lisa eventually managed to get her breath back, Axel was now making his way back up the steps leading into the Observatory with a drive in his step and scowl on his face unlike anything Lisa and Mick had even seen before. The two shared a glance before beginning to take off after Axel without hesitating.

"Axel, what're you doing?" Lisa shouted. "Went can't just charge in there footloose and fancy free! We need a plan for god sake!"

"Oh don't worry Lisa, i've got a plan..." Said Axel as he reached into the pocket of his jacket once more and withdrew a whole roll of his exploding stickers. "I'm gonna kill each and every single one of those mother-fuckers inside for daring to mess with my boyfriend..."

* * *

Still locked up tight inside the apparently abandoned storage room, Cold only just managed to hold back an ecstatic cheer as he finally finished wrapping up Mark's exposed torso, successfully having removed The Joker's bullet from Mark's body and covering up the garish wound without a hitch. Cold heaved out an exhausted sounding sigh of relief and wiped a thin layer of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

Still sitting motionless against the boxes, Mark had fainted at some point between removing the bullet and cleaning the wound. Cold stilled for a moment and pressed his head against Mark's chest, smiling to himself when he heard a faint but steady heartbeat from within the Weather Wizards chest. Well, at least that was one problem sorted. Now to deal with the horde of clown's outside trying to force their way into the room.

Rising to his feet and turning back to face the completely ice-encased doorway, Cold took a single step towards it before suddenly his legs started going weak and he felt the world around him begin to plunge into darkness. It would seem that exhaustion had finally gotten the better of him as Cold collapsed down onto the cold concrete floor beneath him.

Oh god no, This couldn't be happening.

Still clinging onto consciousness with all of his might, Cold pathetically tried to climb back onto his feet but failed spectacularly, falling back down onto the floor and hitting his jaw painfully off the solid surface as he did so. Cold couldn't give up now, he had to get them out of here!

Laying sprawled out on the floor and his eyes beginning to close whether he liked it or not, Cold groaned painfully as he felt his body finally forcing itself to shut down. He couldn't give up. He was responsible for them. He'd failed them.

He'd failed them

* * *

Almost 5 hours later back at the motel, Lisa stood out on the small walkway between the different rooms with the wind blowing through her hair and an exhausted look on her face. It had been a struggle, but eventually Mick, Lisa and Axel had managed to push their way back into the upper levels of the Observatory and somehow saved both Lenny and Mark before it was too late. When they'd gotten there things hadn't looked good. Mark had lost a lot of blood and they weren't entirely sure why but Lenny seemed to have had collapsed. Seeing her brother laying motionless on the floor of the storage room hadn't really done anything to steady her nerves.

Getting them back to the hotel and allowing Mick to patch them up was easy enough, and it seems they'd been in the nick of time... mostly.

While it seems Lenny had just passed out from exhaustion - who could blame him - if they had arrived any later then Mark wouldn't be here right now. While Lenny had did as good as job patching Mark up as he could have done given the situation it wasn't quite enough. It had been touch and go for an hour or so, but Mick had given Mark the all clear not to long ago. Axel had wept like a baby when he was told Mark was going to be fine. Lisa had to admit, it was bloody adorable.

Hartley however, was another story. While Mick had done his best to stop the bleeding, clean his wounds and get him all wrapped up, no one was 100% sure that Hartley was going to make it through the night. Whatever damage The Joker and Black Mask had done to him was severe and since Mick was technically only a trained paramedic, he wasn't 100% sure what else he could do besides the obvious to help Hartley out.

Perhaps more concerning was what Hartley revealed he had gotten up to under The Joker's watch. While details were sketchy due to the state the boy was in, Hartley continued to ramble on about building some kind of device for the clown that would - quote - Kill Everyone. Lisa wasn't really to much of a worrier to be honest. Shit happened and that was that, there wasn't anything she could do about it. But, to say Hartley's terrifying ramblings had put the fear of god in her would be an understatement.

Before her thoughts and fears could truly take form, a still somewhat weepy Axel lightly tread out of his room and onto the walkway, closing the door behind him tenderly. Walking up to Lisa and placing a hand over her shoulder, Axel sighed deeply and let his head rest against Lisa's.

"Oh god Lisa, i'm a damn mess aren't I?" Axel muttered, his voice still noticeably shaky as he spoke.

"I don't think so. You thought Mark was gonna die Axel, i think you're doing pretty well all things considered." Lisa said warmly, wrapping one of her own arms around Axel's waist and pulling him in closer to her.

"Oh fuck, don't even say that out loud." Axel groaned, an almost inaudible chuckle escaping his lips as he spoke. "I still haven't wrapped my mind around it yet. I don't really want to, y'know? The idea of losing him is just... too much to handle."

The two Rogues stood silently for the next few moments, enjoying the tranquility of each others company and support before Lisa finally spoke up again, a gentle smirk on her face.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" She said, turning her head to look into Axel's eyes as she spoke.

For the briefest moment, Axel turned away and looked off into the distance, apparently too deep in thought to answer immediately. Eventually, Axel turned his attention back to Lisa and nodded, his bottom lip held lightly between his teeth as he finally came to terms with it himself.

"Yeah... yeah, i think i am..." Axel spoke, a confidence to his voice that Lisa hadn't heard from him in the longest time.

"Called it. Well you better tell him when he wakes up. Sitting on something like that for too long isn't healthy. I mean, look at Lenny and Mick for goodness sake." Lisa added with a playful giggle. Although usually she'd keep her comments about Len and Mick's complicated relationship to herself it was clear to everyone that those two shared a deeper connection than they really let on. While at first it was oddly cute, all these years later it was just heartbreaking. Why couldn't they seem to make it work?

"Y'know, i think i've know for a while now. That i'm in love with Mark i mean. I just..." Axel hesitated, his voice becoming unsure once again. "I just hope he feels the same about me."

Smiling at her companion as he spoke, Lisa leaned forward and planted a small kiss onto Axel's cheek. Axel blushed in response and cracked a giddy looking smile at the brunette still leaning in close against him.

"Oh i know he will. Now go get 'em Tiger." Lisa said with a wink as without another word Axel unwound himself from Lisa and made his way back into his room to be with his unconscious lover.

Finally alone, Lisa looked back out onto the bright and beautiful Gotham City. The neon-hues and soft moonlight shining down from above gave the city an odd beauty at night. Shame during the day it looked like a shit-hole.

Exhaling to herself softly, Lisa reached into the pocket of her jeans and withdrew her mobile phone. While she was almost 100% sure that Lenny would kill her for what she was about to do Lisa had no other choice. The Rogues had officially gotten themselves in way over their heads here in Gotham City and needed all the help they could get.

Flipping through her cell's phone book, Lisa smiled to herself when she stopped on the name she was looking for. It has been a few weeks since they'd last spoke, she hoped he wouldn't be mad. Pressing the green button with ease, Lisa slipped the phone up to her ear and made the call.

* * *

An hour later, Lisa snuck away from Lenny's bedside and begun making her way up the stairs and onto the roof of the motel. 1:00am exactly on the roof of the 'Travelier Motel' in Gotham City. That's what they'd agreed on the phone, Lisa just hoped that her friend had kept up his end of the bargain.

Stepping off the stairs and onto the flat surface of the roof, Lisa couldn't help an overconfident grin from appearing on her features as she saw the masked figure standing on the roof apparently waiting for her to arrive. Lisa would never admit it, but she felt the oddest mix of fear and admiration while gazing onward towards the vigilante. A girl could get used to this.

"So, i take it Cisco passed on my little message then? Good to know, i was beginning to think that i agreed to dinner with him for no other reason than my pleasure." Lisa started, her voice silky smooth as she approach the figure with her hands shoved into her pockets and a wiry smirk on her face.

The man currently staring her down with a steely determination was none other than The Flash himself. Lisa had to admit, she was pleasantly surprised that he had actually turned up.

Making a concerned face at her comment, The Flash took a step forward and looked Lisa dead in the eyes.

"We'll talk about what your intentions with Cisco are later, but right now i believe you said you needed out help with something?" The Flash said sternly while Lisa couldn't help but chuckle in reply.

Oh yeah, it was official. Lenny was definitely going to kill her.


	11. The One Where Things Get Even Worse

Ever since the showdown between the Rogues, Professor Pyg and The Joker at the Observatory almost 2 days prior, Sionis Industries had been buzzing with an almost feral activity. After the news had hit that none of Black Mask's henchmen seemed to have survived the encounter in the Observatory - never mind whatever had happened to The Rogues - things had went from 'preparing for the possibility of war' to 'preparing for a guaranteed bloodbath'. If things were already tense prior to the showdown, now you could almost cut the tension in the air with a knife.

Up on the top floor in his office, Black Mask sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head and his legs up on the table while puffing away on yet another cigar. Considering the general atmosphere of horrific dread currently engulfing the rest of the building it would seem that Black Mask himself hadn't received the memo if his relaxed demeanour was anything to go on. Almost acting as a complete parallel to her bosses relaxed attitude, Kelly Li didn't look anywhere near as composed as her employer. Her usually neat and smooth looking black hair was frizzed out beyond all control, her eyes were sporting heavy looking black bags and from the looks of things she hadn't changed clothes in several days. Apparently Roman was doing more than enough relaxing for the both of them.

Currently sat in one of the chairs along the fine oak desk with a mountain of paperwork scattered all around her, Kelly rubbed her temples fiercely and sighed as she leaned backwards in the chair, exhaustion apparently beginning to get the best of her. However before the poor woman had the chance to properly unwind somewhere among the stacks of paper her mobile phone begun blaring its awful tuneless drawl. Tilting her head back even further and moaning in agony, Kelly lazily lutched forward and begun tearing through the piles of text-ridden white looking for her phone, eventually finding it in one of the smaller piles to her left. Swiping the phone to open it, Kelly wiped the back of her hand along her sweat-ridden forehead and answered the call with a weary voice.

"__You've reached the office of Roman Sionis, Kelly Li speaking... Who's this?... Oh, Professor, it's you."__ Kelly said, turning towards Roman with wide eyes and silently mouthing obscenities towards her employer while she listened to the voice at the other end of the line.

Just a few seats up from her, Roman cracked open an eye and looked down at his companion with what looked like a raised eyebrow beneath his hellish mask.

For what seemed like the longest time Kelly sat silently as she listened to the insane ramblings spewing from the other end of the phone pressed against her ear. While the thought was a regular occurrence in her line of work, Kelly really wasn't paid enough for most of the nonsense Roman had her dealing with.

__"Uh-huh... yes... no... Oh, right."__ Kelly said, her voice almost cracking and revealing the wickedly aggravated mood hiding away just underneath her steely visage.

__"Well how soon can we expect the final shipment... uh-huh... excellent, I'm sure Mr. Sionis will be glad to hear it... Mhmm... uh-huh... well have your men drop off the rest of the troops to their specified locations and we can do the rest... uh-huh... uh-huh... no thank you Professor, I rather like my face as it is... mhmm... Well, thank you anyway. You have a pleasant day Professor Valentin. Goodbye."__

And with that, Kelly Li hung up the phone and tossed it down onto the hardwood table with misplaced ferocity. Swinging her arm across the table and hitting the base of Roman's shoe with a balled fist, Kelly looked up towards her employer with dead eyes and a scowl on her face.

__"Do you have a smoke?"__

__"Now now Miss Li, you know there's no smoking in the building..." __Black Mask teased as he withdrew his feet from their spot on the table and sat back up properly in his chair.

__"I'm not going to ask again Roman, do you have a smoke?" __Kelly drawled out, one hand under her chin to stop herself from collapsing completely while the other was held out flat in front of Roman.

Without another word, Roman took the cigar from between the slits in his mask and passed it to Kelly with a nod. Without hesitating, Kelly pressed the cigar to her lips and sucked in one obscenely long draw before collapsing backwards into her chair with a defeated sounding sigh as a thick plume of dirty grey smoke slipped free silently from between her barely parted lips.

"__So Pyg survived. Jesus Christ. It's been 48 hours since that fucking brawl in the Observatory. Not to sound crass, but how the FUCK is he still alive?" __Black Mask asked, bewilderment apparent in his tone as he spoke.

Next to him, Kelly took another draw from the cigar before she passed it back towards Black Mask who gratefully accepted the now almost completely depleted cigar with what looked to be an almost friendly nod.

__"Yes, that was indeed Pyg. It should go without saying that once again he sounded more unhinged than usual, which is really saying something."__Kelly replied as she shook her head._ "___Anyway, according to Pyg both of the Abramovici twins are dead and, I could be wrong, but I think he said he was stuck by lightening?" __The female finished,barely managing to suppress a giggle as she spoke.

__"Guess we have Mardon to thank for that. What else did he say?" __Black Mask asked.

__"Not too much, at least not to much that made sense. Something about his Mother being angry with us and something about rusty nails..." __Kelly's voice begun to drift off as she recounted her conversation with the mad professor. Roman really couldn't blame her.__"Oh, he did confirm that while he failed to take out any of your requested targets at the Observatory he was proud to confirm that the final shipment of our Doll-O-Trons are indeed ready for deployment. He's dropping the last 30 of off at Point 23 as we speak." __

__"Well, at least that's something. Did he confirm if Point 0 through 22 were set up and ready to go?" __Black Mask asked as he arose from his chair and begun heading towards the shattered window that overlooked the City he lusted to make his own.

__"According to Valentin all the points are stocked and ready to launch tonight sir." __Kelly added as she too rose to her feet and begun walking on after her boss.

"__Good. Inform the men that Operation ENDGAME has finally begun. Tonight the Clown and the Bat die at my hands, and Gotham City will be mine and mine alone..."__

* * *

__Mark's eyes sprung open and he looked around the room with an unshakable fogginess to his view. From what he could see he was currently sat in a horribly uncomfortable plastic chair in what looked like a dusty old hospital room. The room itself was unremarkable and seemed to be completely devoid of colour bar a a few single streaks of red that managed to permeate the overall grey and monotonous look the room seemed to have grown accustomed too.__

__Perhaps more concerning though was the fact that Mark didn't seem to be able to move his body, his long frame feeling as if it were encased in concrete as he sat silently in the chair looking out into the all consuming grey around him.__

__A few feet directly in front of him was a long and -surprise surprise - grey hospital bed. The bed was surrounded by three Doctors, all of whom were facing away from Mark and had their attention focused on the woman laying on the bed, her face bright red and contorted with pain. Eventually through the haziness Mark was able to acknowledge that the woman on the bed was none other than his old girlfriend Julie Jackham, and from what he gathered, considering the massive bump on her stomach and almost palpable pain on her face, she appeared to be reaching the final stages of Labor. In the bed Julie puffed out shaky breaths in a rhythmic fashion as she did her best to deal with the pain wrecking her system. Around her, the three faceless Doctors inched closer and closer towards the woman the further along she got.__

"That's it my dear, not long to go now. Just give us one more big push!" __The tallest of the three Doctors said almost sinisterly, his voice oddly familiar voice although in his state of disorientation Mark couldn't quite place where he'd heard it before.__

"Time is of the essence my child. Mother doesn't like slow-pokes..." __The more rotund Doctor stated matter-of-factly as a shiver went rocketing down Mark's spine as the Doctor's voice swam around in the air around him almost tauntingly.__

__Meanwhile, the Third Doctor never said anything, his attention focused entirely on Julie and the baby she was soon about to bring into the world.__

__With the Doctors encouragement, Julie merely nodded in response before her hands clamped down tight on the bars at the side of the bed and she moaned in agony, pushing with all her might one last time. Seconds passed and Mark felt his whole body tense up as a shrill cry filled the air while Julie collapsed down onto the mattress behind her, her eyes glazing over instantly and her skin suddenly turning a vomit-enduing pale colour.__

__Mark did his best to scream out, desperately trying to let the Doctors surrounding the woman know that Julie was slipping away and felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes when his voice was nowhere to be found and his body remained entirely unresponsive. Completely ignoring the now apparently dead woman laying in a heap on the hospital bed, the third Doctor sneered aloud and reached down onto the bed and took the baby into his arms. Try as he might though, Mark wasn't able to see the child's face.__

"Ugly little thing... Suppose it would have to be with Parent's who looked like that..." __The Doctor hissed as he turned around towards Mark, revealing himself to be none other than The Black Mask, glaring down towards the wailing infant in his arms with an indifferent look apparent in his beady hazel eyes.__

"Yeeeeeuch! It's a boy! Mother doesn't like boys. THEY MAKE PYG FEEL SICK!" __Said the Fattest Doctor as he turned around to look at the child, the horrifying Pig mask Mark knew all too well glaring right at him as Professor Pyg dragged his chubby index finger lightly along the baby's forehead.__

"Now now Gentlemen, let's not be too hasty!" __The tallest Doctor said as Mark felt his stomach drop. Oh no, oh god no. Not him, anyone but him.__"Everyone has their merits. Roman, you've got the resources. Pyg, you've got the talent and well... i've got a bit of everything really." __The Joker said, turning around and delicately taking the baby from Roman and cradling it tenderly in his long ghastly limbs before handing it over to Pyg.__

"Besides, by the time we're done with him he'll be absolutely perfect. Right Pyggy?" __The Mountebank snarled with a insidious sneer as he cricked his pasty features over to look at the still frozen Mark.__

__Carefully holding the baby in his arms with a lopsided grin on his greasy features, Pyg oinked aloud rubbed his hand down gently over the babies face. Mark felt himself being filled with a red hot fury and groaned aloud as his body still refused to co-operate.__

"This little sugar-lump is the clay my craft desperately desires. Mother Goat demands no less than perfection. And mother always get's what she wants..." __Pyg muttered aloud as he turned the baby around to face Mark, a blank and bloodied dolls mask already fused onto the newborn's face.__

And with that, Mark found himself thrown violently from his dream-scape and back into the waking world with an earth-shattering fervor. Sitting up in the bed with his heart pounding furiously in his chest, the weather controlling meta-human looked around the room frantically with his eyes wide and entire body a bundle of tensed nerves. Fortunately, he was still in his motel room, unfortunately that meant he was still in Gotham. To his left he could see Axel fast asleep on the single armchair in the corner, apparently giving Mark some space to recover from The Joker's attack. While it was a cute gesture, Mark was a meta-human after all and an increased recovery rate was just part of the package.

Clamping his eyes shut tight, Mark placed his head into his hands as he tried to calm himself down. Everything was fine, it was all just a dream. Josh and Julie were fine, they had to be. Turning his body around to place his feet down onto the carpet of the motel room, Mark winced and pressed a hand down hard onto the wound on his stomach. While his advanced healing was almost certainly useful for recovering from things like this it didn't mean it wouldn't hurt like a bitch in the meantime.

Reaching over to the dresser and grabbing his phone, Mark narrowed his eyes and read the time. 9:57pm. Good, it wasn't quite too late to give them a call.

Putting in his password and opening his phone-book, the male couldn't help but crack a smile when he highlighted the number he'd been looking for, Julie Jackham. Pressing 'Call' and then holding the phone up to his ear, Mark listened to the buzzing noise of the call with baited breath as he awaited the woman on the other end to answer his call.

"__Hey Mark" __Julie said from the other end of the phone, her voice warm and friendly. _"___How you doing? You haven't called in a few days..."__

"__Hey Julie. Yeah i'm fine. It's good to hear your voice. How you both keeping?" __Mark asked, his body melting back into his usually relaxed state as he spoke.

"__Yeah, we've been fine. The Weather's been oddly nice over here, so Josh got to go to the Zoo after all. He keeps telling all his friends that his dad made the weather nice for him. Josh keeps asking about you, and by that I mean he keeps asking if you're going to bring him back a present." __Julie said, amusement apparent in her tone. Mark couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

"__Of course I am. I'm the best dad ever after all. Speaking of which, is he around. I really... I just really need to hear his voice.__" Mark said, desperately trying to hide the pain he was feeling.

"__You're in luck. One second, let me get him. Josh! It's your dad!"__ Julie shouted._ "___Oh and Mark, be careful. I don't know what you're all doing in Gotham, but just... be safe okay? Anyway, here he is."__

"__Hi daddy!" __Josh exclaimed as he took the phone from his mother._ "___I miss you. Hows your vacation? Mom said not to ask if you got me a present or not..."__

Sat at the edge of the bed, Mark's voice broke as he felt tears beginning to slip down his cheeks.

"__Hey kiddo. I'm fine, and of course I did! It's your birthday next week isn't it? Can't believe you're gonna be 4 already little guy..."__

Behind the meta-human and now wide awake in the chair, Axel couldn't hide the massive grin spread across his face as he listened to Mark break down on the phone. For such a stoic bastard, Mark really was a big softy underneath it all.

* * *

Up on the Rooftop of the sleazy motel stood both Cold and Lisa, the siblings standing side by side and looking out on the sun setting across the wide Gotham Skyline with content smiles on their faces. It had only been 2 days since things up at the old Observatory had went pear-shaped but Cold was pleased to report that a few days to himself had really helped settle him down. Obviously the looming threat of The Joker's mysterious device made relaxing and getting himself back to full strength just a little bit harder than it should have been, but since when did the threat of a W.M.D get in the way of the Snart Siblings precious R&amp;R time?

"__I really hate to ask, but what did the Scarlet Speedster say was the plan then?" __Cold said eventually, turning his head to look down at his sister as he spoke.

"__Well, according to The Flash his sources say that The Joker has went deep underground since we confronted them the other night. Apparently he's biding time for his next move, but it's gonna be soon. He's not exactly known for his patience..." __Lisa said with a shrug.

"__Y'know it's funny, I didn't get that from him not even letting us finish a sentence before opening fire on us. Must've been the new black suit, made him seem more welcoming than what i'd come to expect from the aforementioned psychopathic clown."__ Cold replied with a playful smirk, earning a laugh from his sister.

"__Yep, costume changes always seem to have that effect. The sleekness of the new suit really did help balance out the crazy his entire face was giving off." __Lisa added. Cold shook his head and failed to suppress a chuckle.

The Siblings stood in silence for what seemed like forever, apparently comfortable enough in each others presence to bother with meaningless conversation. They'd had a rough childhood without a lot of respite, and with Len growing up as the only mixed-race kid in a mostly white neighbour hood with an abusive father to boot, so little moments like these where he got to just be around Lisa really did mean the world to him. Eventually though Cold couldn't avoid the issue at hand any longer and with a forlorn sigh looked at Lisa and spoke up.

"__So... how many devices did Hartley say he built for the clown?"__

"__He says his memories of being locked up are sketchy at best, but Hartley seems to remember building one main device and 4 smaller ones to act as both back-ups and conduits for the main one. Seems the main device only has a limited range of potency, so the 4 smaller devices should help strengthen and widen the blast radius. Basically Lenny, it's really not looking good." __Lisa replied anxiously.

"__Shit. Shit shit shit... Not to sound negative, but the fact Hartley can't remember what exactly the device does is what's concerning me more though Lis." __Cold noted.

"__You can say that again. I mean, at least if we knew what exactly The Joker had up his sleeve we could prepare ourselves even just a little bit, the uncertainty is killing me..." __Lisa added, her arms folded tightly across her chest as her eyes remained fixed on the still setting sun.

"__Lisa, no matter what happens when The Clown does make his move, you know I'm not going to leave you. Right?"__ Cold said as he reached out and placed a hand down gently on his sisters shoulder. _"___I did once before, and I... I... just know that when push comes to shove, I'm not going to leave you again."__

Next to Cold, Lisa sighed aloud and looked up at her brother with uncertainty clearly visible in her eyes. Despite this, the brunette shifted closer to her brother and linked arms with the taller male, a small smile gracing her features as she allowed her head to drop down and rest against her brother's bicep.

"__I know big buy, I know..." __She said, her voice drifting off towards the end as they both stood in silence and watched the sun finally set over the rest of the hellish city.

Not a moment later, a sudden blur of bursting red zoomed through the parking lot of the motel, up the stairs and onto the roof just a few feet behind them, inadvertently interrupting their brief moment of peace. Sighing aloud and adjusting his now ruffled parka, Cold turned his body around to look at their guest with an overconfident smirk on his face.

"__Well well well, if it isn't the Scarlet Speedster. Come to tell us the good news?"__

In front of the Snart siblings, The Flash made a face at Cold and took a single step forward.

"__Eh... not exactly..."__

* * *

The time was 23:58pm and over at Sionis Industries things were slowly beginning to build up to a tense and unrelenting peak. With only two minutes to go, Black Mask could literally feel the electricity in the air as puffed on yet another cigar while carelessly playing with the walkie talkie in his hand. In less than 2 minutes his plan to make the city his would be put into play and every living soul in this godforsaken concrete jungle would know his name. Stood a few feet behind him, Kelly Li stood with her back straight and a clipboard wrapped tightly in her hands. By now she had showered, changed outfit and prepared herself for the long night ahead. Most nights with Roman were 'interesting' so to speak, this however was going to be a real game-changer.

"__Exactly one minute to go Sir. I just received a progress update from Pyg and he says all 23 cache's are fully stocked and waiting for your orders."__Kelly announced, an oddly uncharacteristic giddiness to her tone that Roman couldn't help but smile at.

"__Good to hear Ms. Li.__ __Care to come forward and watch the fireworks with me?"__ Black Mask said, his head turned over his shoulder and looking towards his assistant with softer eyes than she had become accustomed to.

"__Why, It would be my pleasure sir..."__ Kelly said without hesitation, stepping forward and standing side by side with her employer as without another sound he raised the walkie-talkie up to his lips.

"__Operation ENDGAME is active gentlemen. Give 'em hell!"__

As soon as the clock struck 12, Black Mask's plan sprung into action. Around the city at what seemed like every single major landmark, 23 consecutive shots could be heard echoing in the air followed by a bone-chilling chorus of barbaric moans and fumbling footsteps. Within seconds hundreds of Professor Pyg's Doll-O-Trons came pouring out of every dark nook and cranny of the city, flooding the streets with their special brand of chaos as the hulking monsters begun tearing apart each and every single thing that was unfortunate enough to find themselves in the creatures lines of sight. Screaming and blind panic quickly suffocated the previously calm atmosphere while numerous sirens could be heard ringing around the city, drowning the peace in uncontrollable hysterial.

The GCPD and those costumed freaks could try as hard as they liked, there was no way of stopping Roman's Endgame. After all, his goal was incredibly simple. While this pathetic little gangwar with the clown had been amusing if nothing else it had been a real eye opener for Sionis. This City, no matter how hard he tried, was too tightly wrapped around the fingers of the Bat and the Clown to truly be his. And that's when it hit him. While originally tonight's goal was to bring the City to it's knees the plan had changed and now Black Mask wanted nothing more than to burn this City down into an ashy cinder. If Roman couldn't have this city, then no one could.

Back up on the top floor of Sionis Industries, both the Black Mask and Kelly Li looked out upon the uncontrollable madness currently englufling the city. Black Mask looked visibly pleased with himself, while just to his left Ms. Li's attention seemed to be more focused on the Blackberry in her hands.

"__Beautiful, isn't it?"__ Roman asked as he placed his hands on either side of his garish mask and removed the disguise from his head. _"___Nothing like a little cleansing fire to get the ball rolling. This City will be nothing more than a distant memory by sunri..."__

As Black Mask spoke however, 4 earth-shattering explosions could be heard from around the city, the entire Sionis Industries Building shaking in response to the sheer ferocity of the blasts. Turning his head over his shoulder and looking towards Kelly with a look of pure unrelenting fury on his face, Roman took off away from the window and stalked over towards his desk, with Kelly following on close behind.

"__Sir, what just happened? The Charges weren't set to go off until 12:30 to keep the GCPD busy? And weren't there more of them?" __Kelly said, the concerned tone to her voice piercing through the madness and automatically drawing Roman's attention away from the desk and onto his assistant.

"__How the fuck should I know? FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING, NOW!"__ Black Mask screeched, turning his body around away from Kelly to look back out towards the window.

"__Checking as I speak sir... Oh no. Something's going on sir. I've just received word that charges have been set off at The GCPD, Ace Chemicals, The Botanical Gardens and at Gotham University. We never placed any charges there sir, and according to the Squad leaders all of our bombs remain operation yet un-activated. Roman, what the hell is going on?" __Kelly asked as she herself took off out of the office and towards her own desk, hoping her personal computer would provide her with the answers she desperately sought.

"__I'll tell ya what's going on Miss Li."__ Roman snarled as he reached underneath his seat at the long oak desk and popped open a hidden compartment. _"___The Joker has finally made his move. Mother-fucking son of a BITCH!"__ Roman barked furiously as he withdrew a fully loaded military-grade Grenade Launcher from the compartment under his desk and held it proudly in the air. Inspecting the weapon and making sure it was fully loaded and ready for action, Roman placed the gun down onto the table and begun fixing his infamous moniker back onto his head.

"__Get ready for a fight Miss. Li, I've got a feeling things are about to get wild..."__

* * *

Before The Flash even got a chance to say what exactly he was trying to, around the City the four massive explosions rung in their ears and the 3 Costumed Individuals currently standing on the roof of the Motel turned and looked at each other with confusion apparent on each of their faces.

"__What the hell was that?"__ Lisa asked wide eyed as she looked out upon the burning city while Cold himself placed his hands into the pockets of his parka and looked out at the madness with his usual stoic glare.

Behind the pair of them, The Flash had his index and middle fingers pressed to his right ear and seemed to be talking to someone.

"__Lau...Canary. What just happened? Oh no way, seriously? Can't we just catch a break already? Alright, tell them i'll be there in a second. Flash out."__The Scarlet Speedster said as he blurred forward so he was standing right behind the two Rogues.

"__Right, according to the Others both Black Mask and The Joker seem to have simultaneously made their moves. Mask's Doll-O-Tron Army is tearing apart the city while The Joker has just activated the 4 smaller devices, doesn't seem like he's activated the main one yet though. Nightwing's trying to get a lock on it, but that's gonna be hard until he actually activates it." __The Flash said, a mild panic to his usually cocky tone.

"__Okay, so what do we do then?__" Cold asked.

"__We've got a few teams spread around the city making their way to each of the Joker's devices. Since we still don't know exactly what they're meant to do we need to shut them down now before he's got a chance to properly activate them. You guys however have the fun part. Since Black Mask has just unleashed an army out onto the city, We're going to need you to make your way over to Sionis Industries and see if there's a way to shut the horde down while we deal with the beacons. Get the other's ready and move out"__ The Flash said before within the blink of an eye he was gone, leaving nothing behind after him but a blood red streak in the air.

Still stood close together on the roof, Cold turned towards Lisa with a bored look on his face as he begun making his way over towards the stairs leading back down towards their rooms.

"__Fucking hell, remind me again why were doing this?" __Cold sighed while behind him he heard the brunette chuckle.

"__'Cause technically one of our own started this shit show, and now were gonna go finish it?"__ Lisa replied.

"__Since when did you become the honorable one?"__

* * *

Back over at Sionis Industries the members of Black Mask's security team were doing their best to seal the entrances into the building shut tight in a last ditch attempt to keep the escalating madness outside from breeching their walls. While Black Mask had set the Doll-O-Trons free, it didn't mean he had much control over them and as a result several of the faceless horde were currently trying to tear their way into the building. Luckily for the guards Black Mask had been courteous enough to give them a heads up and as a result they had mostly managed to secure the building before the horde had been unleashed. However, as the finishing touches were finally being put into place somewhere not to far in the distance three sets of massive headlights could be seen rocketing closer and closer towards the building with no sign of stopping.

Inside the lobby, several of the guards had huddled together to try and get a better look at the approaching lights before, unfortunately for them, they realised too late that the lights were heading right for them.

Within seconds the headlights got close enough to the building to identify that they belonged to three identical 24-wheeler trucks and before the guards inside the lobby had any time whatsoever to react the three trucks came crashing through the walls and fired onwards through the stone walls and thundering into the Lobby before eventually coming to a stop when they crashed down hard into the walls at the other end. All the guards and all the Doll-O-Trons trying to force their way into the building had been completely decimated by the trucks and besides the screeching and wailing noises from outside in the rest of the city, the inside of the once lively Lobby was now completely silent.

"__Oh boys! I gotta say, that was just c'est magnifique! Glad Roman's loaded because the cleaning bill for this place would make even the likes of Bruce Wayne recoil in disgust!" __The Joker announced with almost child-like glee as he hopped over the broken windows and begun pacing his way into the lobby. Behind him, Harley Quinn and a gang of Clown-Masked Men all carrying semi-automatic rifles followed on close behind now that their path into the building had been cleared by the trucks.

Walking up towards the truck that had landed the furthest into the lobby, The Joker walked up towards the sealed doors and rattled them with the base of his cane.

"__Honey, were home!"__ The Clown Prince announced with a sneer as the back doors to all three vans suddenly sprung open, revealing countless more clown-masked men inside two of the vans and more importantly, the main Device tucked away neatly inside the van The Joker was standing directly in front of.

"_Boys, get yourselves ready. We've got a show to put on!"_


	12. The One Where The Fat Lady Sings

The Rogues van violently swerved from left to right as it continued on through the unrelenting madness that was the streets of Gotham City and towards the Sionis Industries building across town. In less than 10 minutes the entire city had devolved into something Cold had only seen in B-Horror Movies. Everywhere they looked was either on fire, swarming with those mindless Doll-O-Trons or covered in what looked like blood. In the passenger seat, Cold couldn't help but shiver at the blurred glimpses of madness just a few inches outside as the van continued to forage its way through it regardless. Cold would admit that he wasn't the most reputable sort, to be fair he had his days when he's even go as far as to describe himself as a 'bad guy', but looking out onto the chaos those two egomaniacs had unleashed onto the City over nothing more than territory war, Cold could proudly say he'd never felt better about himself than he did right at that moment.

"_Keep your eyes on the road Mick. We can't afford to waste any time."_ Lisa said from the seats behind the two other Rogues.

"_I know Lisa, you don't have to keep telling me."_ Mick snapped back and cursed aloud as he only just managed to swerve out of the way of a Doll-O-Tron that was carelessly wandering around on the road. Besides him, Cold turned towards the bulkier male and flashed him a condescending grin.

"_Seems like she does. Eye's on the road hot-head." _Cold replied while Mick muttered obscenities under his breath.

Hearing ringing coming from somewhere on his person, Cold quickly removed his phone from his left pocket and pressed it to his ear.

"_Axel, tell me you've got good news."_ Cold asked wearily.

"_Well, I've got some good news and a whole slew of bad news. What do you wanna hear first?"_ Axel replied from the other end.

"_Let's start with the good news."_ Cold said while Mick swerved once again, this time to avoid some random civilians caught up in the chaos.

"_Right, well according to some chick named 'Oracle', the main device has been located! Bad news is that it seems it's located at Sionis Industries. Gotta admire The Joker's bravado if nothing else."_ Axel said, the sound of computer keys tinkering away in the background could be hear as the male continued on with the conversation. _"But that's not all. Mark and I are still locked up tight at the Motel. I'm trying to remotely hack the machines, see if I can stop them from here. But Mark, well he's still too weak to get a proper cover-storm going for you guys, so instead he's going to try and focus the storm over at Sionis Industries. While it's sure ain't gonna stop whatever the Machine does, maybe it can at least dampen it's effects, y'know, keep it manageable."_

In the passenger seat, Cold clamped his eyes shut and forced a stressed sounding exhale out through his nostrils. Tonight just kept getting better and better.

"_Right, so shit on top of more shit. Good to know. Anything else?"_ Cold asked curtly.

"_How did you know? Are you psychic as well as overly pissy? But yeah, I just received word from our friend The Flash, seems that he's gonna meet you guys outside Sionis Industries, he's also bringing a friend but didn't feel the need to tell me who. So y'know... look forward to that." _Axel taunted as he continued to tinker away with his laptop. _"Anyway, we're kinda busy over here so I'm gonna need to go. I'll keep my phone on so we can keep in touch."_

"_Alright, just make sure and keep us updated. And Axel..." _Cold started, his voice uneasy.

"_Yeah Len? What's up?" _Axel replied, the constant tinkering in the background pausing momentarily while The Trickster waited for Cold's reply.

"_Just... just be careful, alright? Cold out." _Cold concluded as he hung up the phone before Axel had time to reply.

Leaning forward in his seat ever so slightly to adjust the hood of his Parka on over the top of his head, Cold sighed aloud and begun inspecting the Cold-Gun placed neatly across his lap with a scowl on his face and unshakable feeling of uneasiness filling his system as Mick continued to steer the Van towards their intended goal.

"_We've got about 2 minutes until we get there. Remember, stick together. Don't deviate from the group for any reason, that's what's going to get you killed. Get ready you two, it's about to get messy..."_

* * *

Within no time at all the three Rogues pulled up outside the Sionis Industries building and took a moment to soak in the view before them. While the last time they had been here the Sionis Industries building had acted as a bastion of class and intimidation, now it was hanging open like an septic wound thanks to three large Trucks that seemed to have driven right through Black Mask's barricades and right into the building. The streets themselves and inside the Lobby seemed to be soaked in blood, gore and broken glass but perhaps more odd was the fact that all three of the Trucks appeared to be completely empty.

Before long the Rogues attention was drawn from the decimated lobby and towards an odd zooming noise from somewhere to their left. Said zooming noise was none other than The Flash himself, zipping between a half-dozen Doll-O-Trons with a cheesy grin plastered over his face, effortlessly landing hit after hit onto the hulking monstrosities while the beasts continued to swing their arms around lazily in a last ditch attempt to clock the Speedster.

"_Aw C'mon guys! At least try to be a LITTLE bit challenging!" _The Flash taunted as he launched himself forward and tackled one of the Doll-O-Trons to the ground before bolting forward and sinking his fist into another's stomach. One by one the Doll's fell down onto the concrete below with hollow thuds before finally the last one fell after The Flash landed a wicked sounding punch to the creatures jaw.

"_My my Scarlet, I've got to admit. That was impressive."_ Cold said as he stepped out of the van and begun heading towards The Flash with Mick following on close behind.

"_'Hot' is more like it. I wonder what else you can do that fast._" Lisa added with a cheeky wink as she walked on past her brother, Mick and The Flash and begun heading up into Sionis Industries. Before she got too far though, Cold reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist, dragging his sister back a few paces so they were standing together.

"_Remember what I said Lisa, we split up and we're just going to get ourselves killed. Now then Scarlet, what's the plan?"_ Cold asked with an overconfident smirk.

"_Always so dramatic Snart. But anyway, my friend has an informant in The Joker's gang who's giving us progress updates. Last we heard The Joker isn't quite ready to activate the machine but isn't far off it. My friend is running a little bit behind schedule, so we're just going to need to head on in and try and secure the device before The Joker activates it. You three think you can play nice long enough to help stop this?"_ The Flash asked, his tone deadly serious as he inched closer towards the three weapon-toting Rogues stood just a few feet away.

"_Now Scarlet, when have we ever let you down?"_ Cold answered almost instantly, a smug grin on his face as he looked the red leather clad male right in the eyes.

"_Ugh! Don't even start Snart, I can't even count the times you've betra..."_ The Flash begun before a mechanical roaring noise somewhere in the distance getting nearer and nearer to them distracted the young Speedster. Immediately losing his trail of thought, The Flash took his eyes off of the three Rogues and turned his attention down the long road ahead of them or more specifically, towards the black armoured tank speeding right towards them.

"_Hmm, seems my friend isn't as late as he thought he'd be."_ The Speedster announced with a grin as he took off towards the approaching vehicle like a rocket.

Still stood huddled together and looking ahead of them with raised eyebrows, the three Rogues watched in trepidation as The Flash made a U-Turn so both the tank-like vehicle and the Speedster himself were now flying towards them.

"_Anyone else feel like this informant on The Joker's gang is a little too good to be true? I mean, who'd be dumb enough to squeal on The Joker?"_ Lisa asked, her query apparently falling on deaf ears as Mick took a single step forward and nudged Cold lightly on the arm.

"_Ah shit, Len... is that who I think it is?"_ Mick asked as the vehicle suddenly came to a skidding halt not 10 feet away from them.

"_I'm afraid so Mick."_ Cold muttered as the hood of the Vehicle slid open and who else but the Caped Crusader himself, The Batman, jumped up and out of the car and onto the pavement, his cape covering his entire frame as he glowered forward and towards the three Rogues.

"_Snart. Rory. We meet again..."_ The Dark Knight growled at the two males, his tone gravely and face stoic as he stood perfectly in place with The Flash hovering around nervously behind him.

"_Wait, you two know this guy?"_ Lisa balked while just ahead of her both Cold and Mick turned to look at each other with guilty looks on their faces.

"_Uhh, yeah, you could say that..."_

* * *

Up on the 27th floor of Sionis Industries, just 2 floors below Black Mask's personal office, Things had quickly gotten out of control. Black Mask, Kelly Li and the few remaining henchman Black Mask had that didn't have a bullet in their skulls were crouched down behind a series of office desks made into a makeshift fort while narrowly avoiding a hail of bullets being fired from a line Clown-Masked men loyal to the Clown Prince of Crime across the room. While the row of men continued to fire down a constant steam of bullets towards the desks, several men were all huddled around the unbelievably heavy mystery device and were heaving it up and through the room towards the stairwell.

"_That's it Gentlemen, just another 2 floors and we'll be ready to rumble!"_ The Joker chirped away, following on close behind the struggling men with a manic looking grin stretched painfully across his ivory coloured jaw.

"_You heard Mistah J! Keep it moving ya useless Bozo's! We've got a schedule to keep!"_ Harley Quinn piped in, a solid looking metal baseball bat gripped tightly in her hands as she skipped on past both The Joker and the group of men carrying the device and made a beeline for the stairwell, opening the doorway to allow the men easier access to manoeuvre the ridiculously large mechanical contraption through the doors.

"_Ah Harley. Such a way with words..."_ The Joker sneered as he watched his Henchman carefully slip through the doors and begin the arduous process of heaving the device up yet another set of stairs.

Black Mask roared aloud and suddenly got up onto his feet, aiming his dual pistols right at two of the gunmen's head and firing, the two bullets slicing through the air and hitting their target right between the eyes as both gunmen grunted and fell to the floor in a mangled heap.

"_More where that came from you no good bastards!" _Black Mask snarled as he ducked back down behind cover, narrowly avoiding getting shot himself. Meanwhile Harley Quinn and the henchmen carrying the device slipped into the stairway while The Joker hung around at the doorway, smirking over at the desks Black Mask and his companions were left crouched behind.

"_Sorry Roman, but I'm afraid I've got other matters to deal with. You don't mind if my boys here show you a good time, do you? Anyway, I best be off. Places to go, W.M.D's to active, You know how it is. Don't have too much fun without me kiddos!" _The Jilted Jester sneered as he too stepped backward and into the stairwell, sealing the door shut tight behind him.

Black Mask was fuming as he listened to The Joker ranting on from the other side of the room. Gripping his pistols in his hands, Black Mask went to rise back up to his feet to finish the Clown off himself before he was stopped as Kelly planted a hand down firmly onto his shoulder and forced him to stay hidden.

"_Don't be an idiot Roman!"_ Kelly barked at her employer. _"Getting yourself killed isn't going to solve anything!"_

"_Yeah well at least I'm trying to do something Ms. Li!" _Black Mask sassed back as he rose to his feet once more and fired two more shots, only one of the shots managing to successfully strike down it's intended target while the other collided with the wall.

"_I don't see you doing anything do defend this place!" _Black Mask continued on as he threw himself back down onto the floor, one of the gunmen's bullets only just managing to scrape his shoulder as he fell. Huddling against the desks with an arm pressed down tight onto his shoulder, Black Mask cursed aloud and squeezed his eyes shut tight. Besides him, Kelly tossed Roman an icy glance and readied the pistol in her own hands.

"_Honestly Roman, do I need to do everything myself?"_ The female asked before suddenly she rose to her feet and fired 6 consecutive shots from the Pistol. Each shot echoed around the room and Kelly couldn't hold back a confident smirk as without even trying all 6 of the shots hit home, striking the masked gunmen in their head and killing them instantly. Suddenly the room went silent as the remaining half-dozen masked assailants dropped to the floor in a pile next to their already fallen brethren.

"_And that's how you do it."_ Li announced proudly as she hopped over their now almost completely destroyed fort and begun making her way towards the pile of bodies lined up across the other side of the room.

Still crouched behind the desk, Black Mask and his henchmen summoned up the courage to peak up over their stronghold and went wide-eyed at the sight of Kelly's Handiwork.

"_Holy shit, I didn't know Ms. Li had it in her!" _One of the goons muttered aloud while Black Mask drew him a venomous glare.

"_Of course she does you dolt! Why the fuck do you think I hired her? Now get the fuck up and get moving! I've got a plan!"_

* * *

To say that Axel was feeling stressed out right now would be the understatement of the century. At that moment in time the Trickster was sighing in annoyance while continuing to fidget away with the Laptop in front of him. All night some person named 'Oracle' had been bothering him via The Rogues comm-links giving him tricks, tips and updates on how exactly they were going to hack The Joker's system and hopefully remotely deactivate the device's before he had a real chance to use them. However as of yet any of these updates were to actually be of any use since as of yet the clown had yet to active the machines.

Pausing momentarily to wipe a thin layer of perspiration from his forehead, Axel took his eyes of the LCD screen before him and turned to look towards Mark, currently sat inside the single armchair their motel room had and looking out the window, his eyes a milky white colour as he focused all his energy into trying to whip up as wicked a storm as he could, given the circumstances.

"_Yo Cloudy, you feeling alright?" _Axel asked upon noticing that Mark had clamped a hand over the spot he'd been shot in just 2 nights ago. "_If you're not, you need to let me know. A cover-storm isn't worth it in the long run if losing you is the price to pay for it."_

"_Babe I'm fine, don't worry. If I don't feel up to it, I'll stop." _The Weather Wizard replied without missing a beat as he narrowed his eyes and tensed his fists, the ever growing storm cloud outside visibly darkening as he did so.

"_It's all well and good you saying that, but you and I both know you're a stubborn bastard. The second you feel ill you've gotta let me know"_. Axel begged, his tone much more tender than that other male has grown accustomed too.

Before he got the chance to let his lover reply though, Axel's attention quickly snapped back towards the LCD screen in front of him.

"_Oh fuck! No no no no no!" _Axel demanded as he begun furiously hammering down on Laptops keyboard.

"_What's wrong?" _Mark asked, his gaze still fixed firmly ahead and on the ever growing storm picking up over the city.

"_The Joker has just activated the 4 smaller conduit devices around the city and booted up a wicked firewall too. It's somehow managing to keep both Oracle and I out. Can't seem to get around it. There seems to be one at each of the sites that were bombed just a half hour ago. There's one at the GCPD, The Botanical Gardens, Ace Chemicals and the University, all of which have their own specialized and equally irritating firewall too. Shit shit shit..."_ Axel babbled as he continued to batter down onto the keys, desperately trying to do something to stall The main device's apparently immanent activation.

"_Is there anything you can do? Maybe you should call Len and let him know the Devices are up and running?"_ Mark added, the storm outside faltering whenever he took his attention off conjuring it and redirected said attention to The Trickster.

"_Given enough time I can get around this easy. I've hacked the fucking Pentagon for Christ Sake, so this should be no..."_ Axel started saying before three Doll-O-Trons leapt through the window and into the Motel Room. Axel let out a high-pitched scream at the sight while Mark jumped and fell backwards in his chair, wincing aloud at the shooting pain that flew through him as his back collided with the floor.

"_Oh come on! Give me a break already!" _Axel screeched as he brought his foot down hard on one of the still floor-bound Doll-O-Trons heads, cracking its skull wide open in one foul swoop. _"I'm having a bad day, and you ass-hole's aren't helping!"_ Axel roared as he tried to shake some of the bloody gore off his converse while he snatched his laptop up off the table.

Lurching forward across the room and grabbing Mark's arm, Axel grunted aloud as he pulled the taller male up off the floor and made his way across the room and towards the door.

"_Axel, what're you doing, we can't leave, the storm is nowhere near ready!"_ Mark managed to mutter through the pain destroying his sides while Axel dragged him out of the room and towards one of the cars sitting in the lot that looked to be in the best shape.

"_Well we can't stay here either dumbass! Now c'mon, we need to get out of here!" _Axel spat out at Mark as he continued on straight ahead towards a relatively fine looking Van parked across the lot, while behind them an ever growing horde of groaning Doll-O-Trons begun to take chase.

* * *

Cold huffed and puffed as he continued to force himself up the abandoned stairwells of Sionis Industries and onwards towards the top floor of the building. He wasn't unfit by any means, but after running up seventeen flights of stairs, with another twelve to go apparently, Cold wondered if just quitting now and heading back to Central City would be frowned upon by the others. Cold figured that both Mick and Lisa would agree with his sentiment, but The Flash and Batman would not.

I mean, the stairs were the only logical option. With both The Joker and Black Mask feuding right this second who knew what tricks or traps this place had hidden away just waiting for some unfortunate do-gooder to come along and spring it.

Just why did there have to be so many stairs? Couldn't Black Mask have had an office in the lobby or something?

Pausing at some point between the eighteenth and nineteenth floor when his phone begun to ring, Cold slowed his pace to a casual jog while he answered.

"_Axel. Glad to hear your alright, what's happening?"_ Cold asked while around him the other five momentarily stopped to allow him a chance to speak, but Cold really knew it was so they could also catch their breath. Sometimes these idiots were so damn transparent.

"_'Alright' might be pushing it Len. We've just been forced out of the Motel by a horde of Doll-O-Trons. Right now were passing... 47th Street in a stolen van. Mark's driving. Say hi babe!"_ Axel chuckled as he removed the phone from his ear and pressed it against the side of Marks face.

"_Hey Len..." _Mark said in a stressed tone before Axel took the phone back himself.

"_Axel, I need you to focus. What's happening out there?"_ Cold pestered, determined to get a straight answer out of the Trickster if it killed him.

"_Oh right! I forgot! Yeah, things are going to shit man. Joker just activated the 4 smaller devices and they appear to be powering up. Oracle and I are trying our best to remotely de-active them but somehow the Clown got his hands on a wicked good fire-wall. Basically we're gonna keep at it until we make a breakthrough, but you guys should hurry up and try to destroy the main device before The Joker even gets a chance to turn it on."_ Axel urged on from the other end of the phone.

"_Ah crap, right well we'll get right to it. Stay safe Axel. Cold out."_ Cold replied as he disconnected the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"_So, you wanna tell us what just happened there?" _The Flash said as he zipped down the stairs so he was only just a few feet away from Cold.  
_"That was Walker. Apparently The Joker has just activated the 4 smaller devices and they're priming for the real deal to fire any minute now. We need to hurry."_ Cold sighed as he took off past The Flash and continued on up the stairwell towards Black Mask's private office.

"_My Informant mentioned as much. Oracle has just sent some help to try and take out the devices personally. We don't have much time. We need to keep moving. Who knows when that madman will activate the device." _The Batman said from the front of the pack as he increased his pace and continued on up the stairs and towards the Twentyninth floor.

Still stood down between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth floor with plain looks on their faces, The Three Rogues turned and looked towards each other while The Flash zoomed off after The Batman without a word.

"_So... is it too late to just turn around and call it a day?" _Cold wondered aloud, wincing at the punch in the arm he received off Lisa as a reply.

Cold decided to take that as a definite 'Yes'.

* * *

Mark's eyes widened and he cursed aloud as he swerved the car out of the way and narrowly managed to avoid slamming into a Civilian trying to make their way through the madness. They had barely been driving for five minutes and so far they'd almost ran over six civilians and actually ran over three Doll-O-Trons. Say what you like about Gotham City's Rogue Gallery, but they really knew how to cause some real civil unrest when they put their mind to it.

In the passenger seat next to him, Axel narrowed his eyes and tried his best to focus his attention on the Laptop currently balanced on his thin knees.

"_Sorry Axel, I'm trying to keep the swerving down to a minimum but the Doll-O-Tron's aren't exactly making it easy." _Mark muttered.

"_Don't worry about it. You feeling okay?_" Axel asked with a frustrated groan as The Joker's firewall continued to keep him at bay.

"_To be honest, no I'm not. My stomach is killing me, my head is pounding and to top it all off my powers aren't co-operating with me. The sooner we get this sorted and head back to Central the better." _Mark admitted as he manoeuvred the car along into the inside of the road and successfully managed to avoid running over yet another apparently unconscious citizen.

"_Just hold on a little longer Cloudy, we'll get through this, we always do."_ Axel reassured the other male with a wide grin as on his laptop screen, a little I.M popped up in the bottom corner.

"_What's this?... Ah crap."_ Axel groaned.

"_Ugh, what now?!"_ Mark asked as he slammed his foot down onto the accelerator and mowed down another Doll-O-Tron.

"_According to Oracle the plan has changed. She's enlisted some help to take out the devices personally since breaking the FireWall doesn't seem like a viable option considering the time limit we've got. Apparently we've to head over to the Sionis Industries building to provide some backup to Len and the others." _Axel announced in an aggravated tone as he carefully closed his Laptop over and tossed is over his shoulder into the back-seats of the van.

In the drivers seat, Mark nodded at his smaller companion and took a sharp left at the next corner. They were a good few miles away from Sionis Industries right now and at the rate the City was devolving into pure, unadulterated madness it would be a struggle to actually get there in one piece. Mark swallowed down dryly and subconsciously bit his lip, he just hoped they'd actually make it there in time to be of some use.

* * *

All at once it seemed as though every single screen turned off and switched to static in unison. Phones, Laptops, Tablets, Electronic Billboards, everything seemed to fail at once and surrendered themselves over to the wild throbbing static. Around the city, those not completely absorbed in the madness currently running rampant through the streets all begun trying to get their precious devices to start working again, but within a few moments it became clear as to why their machines weren't working when an all to familiar white visage appeared on every screen at once.

"_And yer live. Knock 'em dead Mistah J!" _Whispered Harley Quinn from somewhere behind the scenes, she was more than likely the one filming.

"_Good evening Citizens of Gotham! It's me! The Sultan of Slaughter! The Mad Mountebank! The Clown Prince of Crime himself, Theeeeeee Joker! Broadcasting to you live from none other than Black Mask's personal office all the way atop of Sionis Industries!" _The Clown announced as Harley panned the camera around the room for dramatic effect.

"_Pretty swanky, isn't it? But alas, we're not here to study the aesthetic's of Crime Lords. No, we're here for something much more interesting! We're here for THAT!"_ The Joker bellowed, gesturing one of his long arms behind him and towards the massive, slowly rotating device just a few feet behind him.

"_That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is one Nuclear Powered Sonic Disruptor! Powerful enough to level an entire city AND turn all it's inhabitants brains to tapioca while doing so! Isn't it pretty? Yep, she's a beauty all right. But here's the fun part. Tonight, I'm not going to be holding the City to random. I'm not looking for 'X' amount of money to be put into said account before the clock strikes 12. No no no no no, I'm happy to report that tonight is much more simple than my usual fare. Tonight, Ladies and Gentlemen, all I want is to see is this city turned to rubble. In exactly 5 minutes time I'm going to activate the disruptor and turn this city into a barren tundra, full of nothing but death and broken dreams. Kiss your friends, family and pets goodbye, 'cause tonight, Gotham burns." _The Joker concluded with a chorus of maniacal laughter as Harley Quinn shut the live-stream down.

Adjusting the lapel of his suit jacket, The Joker looked over towards Harley with a sinister looking grin on his pasty white features. The Blonde shifted uncomfortably on the spot at the sight of The Clown's penetrating gaze and swiftly directed her attention down onto the floor.

"_That was r-real good Mistah J."_ She said hesitantly. Meanwhile, The Joker's grin somehow managed to stretch a little wider as he strode over towards his hench-woman. Raising a hand up onto her cheek, The Joker carefully caressed Harley's face while beaming down at her.

"_Why thank you Harley. Put your ear-buds in my dear, it's almost time..." _The Joker snickered as he withdrew his hand from the woman's cheek and placed it down onto his hip. Next to him, Harley heaved out a relived sounding sigh and begun silently berating herself as she placed a tiny chrome bud into her each of her ears.

"_How's it coming boys? I think we've got about another minute or so before company arri..." _The Joker started, only to be interrupted when Batman, The Flash and the Three Rogues burst through the sealed entrance and into the office.

Smacking his lips together and failing to suppress an excited looking grin from finding its way onto his face, The Joker grasped his cane tightly in his hands and took a few steps forward towards the five costumes cavillers standing in the doorway to the office.

"_HaHa! Right on queue! Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome! I'm glad you could all make it. It wouldn't quite be a 'Threat to The City' if there wasn't some level of pathetic resistance. How's it hanging Bats?"_ The Joker spat, his deep green eyes wide and manic looking as he drew closer and closer to the figures standing across the room while to his left his Clown-Masked Henchmen continued readying the Disruptor for action.

All huddled together in a somewhat desperate sign of unity, the five individuals standing in the doorway adopted a battle stance and prepared themselves for the fight ahead. It wasn't going to be easy, but then again nothing nowadays ever seemed to be.

* * *

After managing to sneak past those freaks making their way up the Building to fight The Joker, Black Mask and Kelly Li continued on down and out of the building with the remaining few Henchman Roman still had following on close behind. It didn't take long for Black Mask to come to the conclusion that going head to head with The Joker, The Flash, Batman and The Rogues was a guaranteed death wish, and while Roman didn't have any real super-powers per say, he did have the uncanny ability to recognise when his metaphorical goose was cooked. In this case, it was burnt.

Hopping over the shattered windows and jogging down the high steps and and onto the Pavement, Black Mask paused momentarily to catch his breath.

"_Fucking bastard! Using my building as his Ground Zero?!"_ Black Mask hollerred while in front of him, Kelly shot him a less than impressed glance.

"_Shouting and swearing isn't going to get us anywhere Roman. So what's the plan? Surely 'Run out into the street and get mauled to death by Doll-O-Trons' isn't all this Plan B amounts to?"_ The woman asked as she reloaded the pistol in her hands.

"_Of course not Ms. Li, and I'd really appreciate it if you found it within yourself to drop that fucking tone..."_ Black Mask muttered as he reached up and removed his infamous moniker from over his face. _"What were going to do now is simple. We're going to get in a car and get as far away from here as possible."_

"_Sir?" _Kelly asked, confusion apparent in her voice as she spoke_._

"_We've lost Kelly. As much as I hate to admit it, and I REALLY hate to admit it, the Clown has out played us here. But, if we play our cards right we can still be the ones to walk away from this with our heads held high and a city in the palm of our hands." _Roman sneered as he tucked his mask under his arm.

"_I... I'm sorry sir, I don't follow. What exactly are you talking about?"_ Kelly asked.

"_We're going to let The Joker carry out his little scheme. Chances are he's going to end up destroying the City for us with that damn thing, killing himself and everyone else in the process and leaving us to swoop in when the time is right and take this hell-hole for ourselves!" _Roman cackled, his voice managing to somehow permeate over the wild noise of the city.

"_And there, my dear, is our ticket out of here..." _Roman sneered maliciously while he and the rest of his troupe sprinted off towards the Staff Car park directly across the street.

While Black Mask and his gang took off towards the parking garage across the street, along the road and heading straight towards Sionis Industries were none other than Axel and Mark, speeding along the wild streets and towards the centre of all this chaos.

The car hadn't even come to a complete stop before the doors flew open and both Mark and Axel hopped out onto the street and into the fray once more. Withdrawing his Mobile from his jacket, Axel swiped the phone open as he begun making his way up the steps and into Sionis Industries.

"_According to Oracle she's just lost contact with the Len and the others... and also her informant too apparently? An informant? Why weren't we told about that earlier? Ugh, whatever. Guess we better head on up and give them a hand." _Axel said, before Mark grabbed onto his wrist and forced the smaller male to a complete halt at the bottom of the glass ridden steps

"_Umm Axel, the other's are just going to have to wait. We've got company." _Mark said as all around them an immeasurable horde of Doll-O-Tron's begun limping out out the darkness and begun trudging closer towards the two Rogues.

"_Just like old times. Y'ready Cloudy?"_ Axel asked as he stood with his back against Marks, his balled fists held before him as they prepared for the fight of their lives.

* * *

"_You're not saying much Batsy. Cat got your tongue?" _The Joker snickered, his cane twirling around in his hands as he eyed up the crowd still hovering in the doorway. _"Frankly I'm more surprised your little friend in the red leather isn't saying much. I've heard he's usually quite the chatterbox. What's wrong son? You not like Clowns?"_

"_If you see one, let me know. All I'm seeing is some pasty 'Trickster' wannabee in a cheap black suit." _The Flash hit back instantly, smirking proudly away to himself at his retort. Behind him, all three of the Rogues pulled a face and gripped their guns tighter in their hands. Jesus Christ, Why did he have to try and get under The Joker's skin, of all people?

"_Ha! I want to be like James Jesse? That old coot? Puh-lease! I mean, have you HEARD his voice? That old duffer sounds and looks like an ageing Luke Skywalker for goodness sake..." _The Joker said whimsically as he diverted his attention from the Speedster and towards the Rogues.

"_And Lenny. Dear, sweet Lenny. Is this any way to treat a fellow member of the SuperVillain community. You don't see me coming over to Central and taking a big crap all over your plans, do you?" _Joker cooed as he begun stepping further away from the crowd and closer towards the Disruptor.

"_Don't move another inch Joker. Stop this now, before I stop you myself." _The Batman growled. The madman merely cackled in response.

"_Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you try Ba..." _The Joker spat back when suddenly Batman lurched across the room and in one slick movement tackled The Joker back away from the Disruptor and onto the floor.

"_Ah crap. A little warning would be nice! Everyone, move out!" _Cold barked as he swung his arm up and fired a stream of absolute zero from his weapon towards the Masked Men surrounding the still un-activated Disruptor.

Next to him, Lisa charged forward and smacked one of the masked men hard in the face with her gun while Mick took a more barbaric approach and simply starting tearing through the men with his bare fists. Meanwhile, The Flash took the more direct approach and shot forward past The Joker's henchmen and towards the Disruptor's main control panel. Looking at the complicated tech with an uneasy smirk, The Flash shrugged his shoulders and begun pounding down on the control panel at an alarming rate.

"_Oracle, Come in! I'm at the Disruptor but Joker's got it locked up tight. I need a way into the system if I'm gonna shut it off."_ The Flash said before the side of his head was hit sharply not once but twice with a solid metal baseball bat, knocking the Speedster down on to the floor with a painful groan.

"_Uh-Uh-Uh Flashy! You know you ain't allowed to play with Mistah J's toys. Mama spank!" _Harley Quinn taunted as she swung the bat up and then brought it down hard, The Flash only just managing to roll over to avoid yet another strike from the madwoman's weapon. Rising to his feet, The Flash shook his head feverishly to try and shake some of the haziness away before combating his bat-wielding assailant. Try as he might though, that series of knocks to the head had left him pretty disorientated and as a result The Speedster couldn't quite get a proper handle on his powers. Right, so 'Hand to Hand' combat it was then.

Across the room, Cold continued to do his best to flash-freeze any of the Clown-Masked Henchmen that were stupid enough to get too close. That said, it was easier said than done. No matter how many fell, more seemed to be popping up out of the woodwork to try and put a stop to this resistance before the Disruptor could be destroyed. Trust The Joker to have every single possible fail-safe up his sleeve in place and ready to go at a moments notice.

Sprinting forward and slamming his gun down hard onto the back of one of the Gunmen's heads, Cold swung his gun around and fired a single shot directly at another one of the Masked Men who was getting just a little too close to Lisa for Cold's liking, the stream of white connecting with the man's torso and covering him completely in a thick, unbreakable casing of solid ice.

"_Thanks." _Lisa said as she pushed the ice-ridden male frozen in front of her over, the male tipping down and then shattering into millions of tiny pieces as he connected with the floor.

"_Don't mention it. Just focus on keeping these freaks at bay!"_ Cold shouted back as he fired another shot from his gun at yet another oncoming crowd of men pouring out from the stairwell.

The Joker was somehow still managing to cackle loudly despite the presence of the Caped Crusader on top of him, keeping him pinned to the floor while he lay punch after punch into the Clown's ghastly face.

"_Oh come on Batsy? Is that all you've got?!"_ The Joker wheezed, spitting out a mouthful of blood and teeth as he spoke. _"I've come to expect more from you. I mean, I am threatening the city with a W.M.D for Christ Sake. Or maybe you're just saving all your pent-up aggression for when I inevitably kill yet another one of your precious little sidekicks?!" _

On top of him, Batman roared furiously and grabbed the clown by the lapel of his suit, picking him up and firing the ridiculously slender figure across the room and into the wall with tremendous force.

Sliding down and hitting the floor below with both a painful grunt and a manic cackle, The Joker snapped his head around and glared at the Caped Crusader stomping towards him. Quickly scampering up onto his feet, The Joker bore his teeth like fangs and behind his back, withdrew a purple magnum from within the helm of his underwear.

"_Oh what's wrong Batsy? Did I strike a nerve?"_ The clown sneered as without a seconds hesitation he swung the gun around his body and fired three shots directly at the Dark Knight. Not having anywhere near enough time to even think about reacting, all three of the shots struck The Batman in the chest and stomach area and with an agonising grunt the vigilante stumbled backward and fell down onto the floor.

"_Well, if I didn't, then I'm sure those bullets did." _The Joker wheezed as he limped over towards the heavily bleeding Dark Knight lying at his feet and stared down at his with a victorious grimace on his face.

"_Pathetic, at least Jason had the decency to put up a proper fight." _The Mountebank sneered as he lifted his cane up off the ground took off away from Batman and towards the Disruptor. On the floor, Batman did his best to get back up and stop the clown before it was too late, but stopped when the pain in his stomach tore through him like wildfire.

Clouting Mick over the back of the head with his cane and knocking him out cold in the process, The Joker walked right on up to the console of the Machine and dusted his coat down as he looked around the surrounding madness with a Cheshire like grin on his face.

Batman was down and out, HeatWave was unconscious, Harley was dealing with the Flash and his goons were keeping Golden Glider and Captain Cold busy. You've just got to love these Hero-Types, they always seemed to make it so damn easy.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, shut your mouths and open your ears! The time of reckoning has arrived! Big smiles now everyone, lets get ready to rumble!" _The Joker roared with a victorious cheer as he slammed his fist down hard onto a big red button on the left hand side of the keypad. Instantly, the machine begun buzzing and making a whirling noise as electrical discharge begun to erratically spike out of the machine.

"_Oh no. No no no no no!"_ Cold shouted as he pointed his gun directly towards the machine and fired. Unfortunately for Cold though the shot appeared to have no effect on it and almost seemed to bounce right off the chrome surface of the disruptor.

"_Come now Cappy, did you REALLY think I'd get one of your Rogues to build me a W.M.D without having him make sure the device was 100% Snart Proof? What do you take me for? I'm not The Riddler Cappy, I actually put some thought into my schemes!"_ The Joker cackled insidiously as behind him, the workings of the machine grew louder and louder and the electrical discharge firing from the machine begun happening more frequently.

"_Joker! Stop this NOW!"_ Batman demanded from across the room, having finally managed to get back up onto his feet after the Joker's unrelentingly brutal assault.

"_Forever the Martyr, eh Bats?"_ The Joker spat out as he placed two metallic earbuds into his ears. "_But much like with everything else that's happened tonight, you're too late Dark Knight..." _The Joker replied triumphantly while in the background, the Machine finally seemed to reach optimum capacity.

"_You're too late..."_

* * *

With a thunderous boom that could be heard for miles, The Sonic Disruptor finally activated. From up on the 29th floor of the Sionis Industries building, a massive light blue wave of pure unfiltered energy emanated from within the room and begun pulsing over the city, covering the darkened sky in a hue of baby blue as The Madman's machine finally begun working on it's insidious agenda. At the bomb sites scattered around the city, the 4 conduit devices all suddenly begun working overtime and generating their own fields of static blue to help widen the blast radius of the Disruptor and within seconds the machines effects begun to take hold of the city.

Screams of agony filled the air as everyone found themselves being assaulted by the horrific Sonic Pulses being generated by The Joker's W.M.D. Windows shattered, fire-hydrants exploded and cars were crashing all over as back on the twentyninth floor of Sionis Industries, everyone in the room bar The Joker himself and Harley Quinn dropped to the floor and begun screeching in pure agony as the device rung viciously in their ears.

Cold, Lisa, Mick, Batman,The Flash and The Joker's remaining Henchmen all lay around rolling on the floor wildly as their bodies begun to literally tear themselves apart from the inside out. Everyone's ears were oozing blood, their vision all seemed to have collectively become a monstrous haze of throbbing red and to top it all off their heads felt as though they were mere seconds away from literally exploding and coating the luxurious office in their blood.

Almost 30 floors below them, Mark and Axel were still in the middle of their fight with the Doll-O-Tron Army when the effects of the device finally reached them. Both the males let out a matching pair of agonising screeches as they threw their hands up to cover their ears and collapsed down onto the floor, their faces contorted in pain as the horrific effects of The Joker's weapon begun to take effect.

Around them, The swarm of Doll-O-Trons attacking the two Rogues all looked as though they were trying to scream out in pain before they too collapsed down onto the ground, blood gushing from their eyes and mouths as they also/ fell to the floor dead on impact.

The Machine was quickly tightening it's unrelenting choke-hold on the city at a terrifying rate as the Disruptor continued to distribute the burning blue haze across every inch of the wounded city, and it seemed like no one could stop it.

* * *

"_Big Old Bats has fallen down! On the ground! Mind unsound!" _The Joker sung as he lay kick after kick into the completely incapacitated Batman laying helplessly on the ground.

"_Big old Bats has fallen down! I'm so happy! Hahahahahahaha!" _He spat out as he kicked the wounded caped crusader at his feet one final time for good luck.

"_Ah Harley! Would you listen to that! Isn't it beautiful?"_ The Joker asked as he threw his arms into the air and spun around the room whimsically. Meanwhile, Harley Quinn looked around the room and then out into the city with a conflicted expression on her face.

"_Uhh... well... Mistah J, I... I don't about this. This doesn't seem right. Y'said you were gonna drive 'em crazy, not kill 'em..." _Harley asked, her tone unsure yet oddly defiant as she spoke.

Across the room, The Joker stopped dead in his tracks and shot the blonde a venomous glare.

"_Harley, don't tell me you're doubting Daddy's plan. Not after we spent so long working on it." _The Joker asked, placing his hands behind his back and stomping over an agony-stricken Dark Knight as he made his way towards Harley.

"_The plan never was to kill everyone Mistah J! There's innocent kids in this City! Ivy's in the city! So are all our friends! Are you really gonna kill them all just for the sake of the pathetic vendetta you've got with Batman?" _Harley choked out, her face dropping when she realised just what exactly she'd said out loud.

"_Excuse me?"_ The Joker said, stopping dead in his tracks as his trademark smirk devolved into a twisted grimace at the clown girl begun slowly backing away form her approaching lover. Behind The Joker, the clown failed to see The Batman looking up past him and directly at The Flash. Through the pain, Batman managed to nod his head towards the Scarlet Speedster, who in turn nodded his head back with a cheeky smirk as he begun to vibrate his body all over.

"_What did you just say to me? Say it again Harley so the whole class can hear you! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!" _The Clown Prince screeched as he lunged forward and wrapped his hand around the jesters neck, squeezing it unbearably tight as he raised her up off the ground and into the air.

"_I sa-... I said..." _Harley wheezed, her hands desperately clawing at The Joker's iron-grip around her neck.

"_What was that my dear? I can't quite hear you. You're going to need to speak up." _The Joker said as he leaned forward towards his suffocating hench-woman with a sadistic sneer on his face.

"_I said... your plan... is SHITTY"!_ Harley bellowed as she reached up and dug her nails into The Joker's forehead, dragging her sharp talons down hard across his face and drawing blood as she did so. The Joker squealed and instinctively let go of the the woman, who in turn proceeded to knee him right in the genitals before punching him square in the jaw, knocking the air out of the Mountebank as stumbled backwards and tripped over onto the floor over the still incapacitated Dark Knight. Around the room, the three Rogues wished they could laugh and cheer at the sight, but continued to moan in pain as they pressed their hands down hard onto their ears while the Disruptor continued to obliterate their bodies.

Immediately taking off towards the Disruptor, Harley's eyes continued to flick back and forth between The Joker and the Monitor in front of her as she begun trying her best to access the board of the Disruptor to shut it down. As she did so, The Flash suddenly rose to his feet and sped forward towards her, stopping just behind her and looking over her shoulder with a genuinely impressed smirk on his face.

"_Gotta say Quinn, that was impressive. Although a little bit on the 'slow' side for my liking."_ The Flash said, his face and entire body a reddish blur as he spoke.

"_Yeah well getting a one up on Mistah J isn't as easy as y'think. Next time I agree to help you guys it'd be nice if you'd help with some of the heavy lifting, less you want me to knock ya upside the head with my baseball bat again." _Harley said as she continued typing away on the keypad.

"_Ahh doody, it's not working. Mistah J must've changed the codes."_ Harley lamented as she slammed her first down hard into the keypad in frustration.

"_Hmm, maybe we should try a more direct approach?" _The Flash said with a shrug as he drew a vibrating fist back behind him before he launched it through the LCD screen in front of them, withdrawing it and pulling out a handful of brightly coloured wires as he did so.

With that, the Sonic Disruptor made a hellish clanging noise as without any further ado, the machine begun to painfully click and whirl as it shut down before their very eyes.

"_Hmm, I didn't actually think that would work... probably should have done that in the first place, huh?" _The Flash muttered as his cheeks turned a deep red colour rivalling that of his suit. Next to him, Harley couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

* * *

All around the city, cheers of victory and gratitude could be heard ringing in the air as The Joker's Disruptor came to a halt just minutes after it had started. With the main machine now completely destroyed, around the city the 4 other devices all begun whirling loudly as they quickly begun to overcharge with nowhere to re-distribute the power they were generating. With a repetitious series of hollow sounding 'Boom's, the 4 smaller devices exploded in a hale of thick grey smoke as the oppressive blue mist covering the entire city thankfully begun to dissipate.

Perhaps the most convenient thing of all was happening right that second on the streets of the relived city. On what seemed like every corner the eye could see lay countless Doll-O-Trons, all having collapsed and laying scattered around the place haphazardly while completely motionless, blood pouring from their eyes and ears as they lay on the ground. Apparently whatever frequency the device was generating had killed Pyg's sinful creations instantly.

* * *

Cold groaned in pain as he literally forced himself back up onto his feet. His head was pounding and he felt like he was going to vomit up the entire contents of his stomach at any moment, but at the very least the bleeding in his ears had finally stopped. Stumbling over to his sister, Cold grabbed her arm and placed it over his shoulder as he heaved Lisa up onto her feet and in a standing position too.

"_Lisa? Lisa, can you hear me? Are you alright?"_ Cold whispered frantically, trying to not let the others around them hear him in his moment of weakness.

"_I'm fine Lenny, but not so loud. Jesus. My head is killing me..."_ Lisa mumbled as she pushed herself free from her Brother's grasp and stood on her own two feet.

Taking the hint that Lisa was more than fine on her own, Cold winced as he forced himself to stumble over across the room and towards the apparently still unconscious Mick laying face down on the floor. At first Cold felt an all to familiar feeling of dread make itself at home in the pit of his stomach as he approach his hopefully unconscious companion, but as per usual his fears were put to rest upon hearing the loud snoring coming from the burly mass on the floor.

Getting down onto his knees, Cold sighed as he reached forward and nudged Mick's shoulder lightly. The pyromaniac at his feet grunted in response but continued to snore away none the less. Rolling his eyes, Cold brought a balled fist down hard on the back of Mick's head, who in turn sprung up in place and gawked at Cold with unfocused eyes and blood still lazily seeping from his ears.

"_Lenny? Oh shit, what the hell happened?"_ Mick groaned out as Cold leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss down onto the bald headed man's forehead.

"_Get up Useless. I'll explain everything else later..." _Cold spoke in a hushed tone while in the corner of the room, something caught his eye.

With a mostly silenced grunt, The Flash somehow managed to pull Batman up off the floor and, much like what Cold did to Lisa, wrapped one of The Dark Knight's impossibly broad arms around his shoulder for added support. With an exhausted grunt, Batman turned his head and looked down at the Speedster with an appreciative smile on his usually stoic features.

"_Thank you Flash." _Batman groaned out, doing his best to put on a brave face but failing miserably.

"_Don't worry about it Bru-B-Batman" _The Flash said, catching himself before he dropped both himself and his fellow crime fighter right in it.

"_Nice save."_ Batman replied with a smirk as he continued to lean into The Flash's slender frame for support before he was almost knocked back down onto the floor when Harley Quinn leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his still heavily bleeding torso.

"_Oh B-Man! I'm so sorry! I tried to stop him sooner, but y'know how Mistah J can be! I'm the worst mole ever! All I wanted was to ju..."_ Harley sobbed before her eyes widened and her mouth clamped shut at Batman returning her hug as he placed his free arm around the Jesters back.

"_It's alright Quinn. You done well tonight."_ Batman groaned out as he removed his hand from Harley's back and gently pushed her up off of him.

Backing away from Batman and then bumping into Lisa, Harley spun around and instinctively looked away from the brunette standing before her, fearing the worst. Luckily for Harley though, she was pleasantly surprised when the brunette reached forward and held her hand out before her.

"_We did meet the other night y'know?"_ Harley said.

"_I know, but I wanna do this properly._" Lisa replied with a smirk as she continued to hold her hand out before the blonde.

"_Hi, I'm The Golden Glider, but you can call me Lisa"_ she finished with a warm smile as Harley eventually took her hand in her own.

"_Lisa, nice name. I'm Harleen, Pleased t'metcha."_

"_Uh guys, I hate to interrupt this Sisterly bonding, but where's The Joker?" _The Flash asked hesitantly as all the eyes in the room begun darting around it wildly trying to locate the missing psychopathic clown.

"_I don't know." _Mick was the first to reply._ "But Lenny's gone too."_

* * *

The Joker continued to mutter away furiously to himself as he limped up the final set of stairs and threw himself out onto the rooftop of Sonis Industries, slamming the door shut hard behind him. Trust some flat-footed Speedster to come along at the last minute and take a massive steaming dump all over his plans. Just once he'd like something to go his way, just once! Was that too much to ask?

Continuing on further across the roof and stopping only when he'd reached the very precipice of the gigantic building, The Joker looked out across the burning city and couldn't help but scowl menacingly at the sight.

By now this godforsaken City should have been nothing more than dusty rubble messing up his spats! It should NOT still be standing, already preparing to pick itself back up from the floor and begin the long arduous process of rebuilding. His plan was foolproof! FOOLPROOF! It couldn't end like this, it shouldn't!

But then, here he was, The Clown Prince of Crime himself standing atop his rivals headquarters beaten within an inch of his life and overlooking what was now some pathetic brand of manageable madness with a petulant pout on his razor sharp features.

Reaching into the inner pocket of his coat jacket, The Joker spat out another mouthful of blood as he withdrew a battered looking lime-green walkie-talkie from his coat and pressed it up to his mouth.

"_Gentlemen, the plan has well and truly went tits up. I need picked up NOW!" _He hissed into the walkie-talkie, not bothering with the usual pleasantries.

"_Sure thing boss, we're already En Route. We'll be there in like, less than 2 minutes..." _The man said from the other end of the Walkie-talkie before the Joker tossed his over the side of the building and plummeting down towards the streets below.

"_Freeze Clown"_ Said Cold as he carefully stepped out of the stairwell and onto the roof, his Cold-Gun trained directly on The Joker who still stood facing away from him.

"_Really? That's your big move? A cold pun? Oh come now Cappy, don't you think I feel bad enough already? Months of planning down the crapper, and for what? Because I tortured your little friend? Because I threatened your precious Rogues?" _The Pale man moaned, turning his body around to face Cold. _"Well get over it already. We're SuperVillains for Christ Sake Cappy! Having your loved ones threatened by a psychopathic clown in a sleek Vivienne Westwood suit is just an ordinary Tuesday for the good people of Gotham!"_

"_I said 'Freeze'!"_ Cold demanded as his finger begun to press down against the trigger, not quite firing the gun but not far off it either.

"_And what're you going to do about it if I don't, eh Snart? Are you going to kill me? Finally put an end to my legendary reign of terror? Better men than you have tried Snart, and look where that got them." _The Joker laughed as he took a single step forward towards Cold, who in turn snapped down hard on the trigger of the gun and fired, a single shot of pure white zipping just past the Clown and off of the building.

"_Next time I won't miss, so I'm not going to tell you again. Don't. Move." _Cold commanded.

Across from Cold, The Joker only just managed to hold back a chuckle as he placed his hands onto his hips locked eyes with Cold, sheer unfiltered madness clearly bubbling away just below the surface.

"_Oh Lenny. Lenny Lenny Lenny... my poor sweet naive Lenny. Much like Batsy, you should have killed me when you had the chance."_

And with that, The Joker thrust his chest forward and sprayed a thick trail of emerald green acid from the flower on his lapel that was aimed directly at the gun in Cold's hands. Having absolutely no time to react, the acid hit home and almost instantly begun to eat through his precious weapon. Raising the gun up just a little higher in the hopes of striking the clown down before the gun was completely useless, Cold went to fire his weapon when he suddenly found the clown directly in front of him, grinning down at him like a man possessed.

"_Uh oh, looks like I broke your toy Cappy!"_ The Clown Prince cackled as he knocked the wind out of Cold's stomach when he kicked him sharply in the gut, snatching the acid-soaked weapon from his hands as he doubled over.

Giving the Cold-Gun a quick look over, The Joker shrugged and dropped the melted remains of the weapon down to his feet before he launched a balled first forward and smashed it down hard into Cold's face, sending the Rogue stumbling backwards _"I wish I could say I was sorry, but I really do hate Liars!"_

Fighting through the pain he felt, Cold roared like an animal and lurched forward, tackling The Joker down onto the ground and slamming his fist down hard into the clown's jaw over and over and over again. Beneath him, The Joker grunted and somehow managed to choke out a sinister sounding cackle in between Cold's unrelenting punches.

"_Haha! I love it when you play rough!" _The Joker chuckled as he swung his head forward and smashed it into Cold's, briefly stunning the male pinning him down. Placing a hand on either one of his shoulders, The Joker pushed Cold back off of him and back onto the roof, knocking the wind out of his chest once again.

Groaning as he pressed a hand down onto his stomach, Cold gasped, desperately trying to get catch his breath before he let out a blood-curdling scream as The Joker threw himself forward and sunk a long serrated blade down into Cold shoulder, twisting the blade in once it had reached it's base.

"_That's it Cappy, that's what I like to hear. Screams of Agony filling the night air like some beautiful noxious odour. While your single scream isn't quite enough to make up for the City's worth I lost tonight, I guess i'll just have to make do!" _The Clown snarled as he sunk his weight down onto the knife, pushing it just a few centimetres further into Cold's bleeding shoulder.

Down on the ground, Cold's eyes were clamped shut tight and he felt tears welling up in the corners as the searing pain of The Joker's blade sunk into his shoulder. After suffering through the assault from the Sonic Disruptor and now with a knife lodged deep into his being, Cold's entire body felt as though it were going into shock while just a few inches above him, that grinning psychopath continued to glower down at him with nothing but madness visible in his terrifying green hues.

"_What's wrong Snart? You're looking a little green around the gills! Anything I can help with?"_ The Joker sneered.

Down on the ground, Cold opened his mouth only slightly and muttered something inaudible. The Joker couldn't contain a manic sounding giggle as he leaned down closer to Cold and tilted his head so his ear was now barely apart from Cold's mouth. Lucky for Cold, The Joker never seemed to have noticed Cold reaching for the acidic remains of his weapon while the clown kept him pinned down.

"_What's that? You're gonna need to speak up, I can't hear ya Cappy!"_ The Joker whispered sinisterly before Cold swung his arm upwards and smashed the bright green remains of his weapon down hard into the side of The Joker's face. The Clown grunted and fell to the side, both his gloved hands pressed tightly against the side of his face as some of the remaining acid left on the weapon begun scalding his skin.

"_Ugh! Y-You useless son of a BITCH!" _The Joker squealed to Cold's left as he writhed around on the roof, a sickening hissing noise and the smell of burning flesh filling the air around them as Cold took advantage of the clowns moment of weakness and rose to his feet, withdrawing a regular pistol from one of the pockets inside his Parka and pointing it directly at the clowns head.

"_Cool it! It's over Joker!"_ Cold shouted down as his brawling partner, his body literally shaking as he stared the Clown down through the barrel of his pistol.

"_Alright already. I know when I'm beat. You got me Snart. I surrender..."_ The Joker hissed out as he removed his hands from his face and raised them high into the air, revealing red aching sores covering the right side of his face where once was white as he turned to look as Cold. _"Now what Handsome?"_

* * *

Axel grunted as he used the car to pull himself up onto his feet. Jesus wept, that Sonic Disruptor really did what it said on the tin didn't it? Placing a shaky hand up to his ear, The Trickster made a disgusted face as he noticed the lines of bright scarlet blood dripping down off of his gloves and onto his wrist. If he ever got his hands on that crazy fucking clown then he'd kill him himself.

Next to him on the floor, Mark rolled over onto his back and scrunched his face up as he pressed one hand onto his stomach on one onto his forehead.

"_Fucking hell, that was... that was something else." _Mark slurred.

"_Tell me about it Cloudy. How you feeling?"_ Axel replied back with a smirk.

"_Shitty. How're you?"_ Mark asked

"_More or less the same. Gotta love Sonic Disruptor's, I dunno about you, but my ears have never felt cleaner. Maybe we should get one for the apartment?" _Axel teased while Mark shook his head.

"_Yeah let's put a pin in that for the moment. I really don't want W.M.D's around my kid"_ Mark retorted as he forced himself into an upwards position, his hands wrapping around his long legs Mark rested his head down onto his knees.

"_Fair enough. Josh would love it though. He's a wiry little rascal... On a brighter note, at least the blast seems to have taken care of our Doll-O-Tron problem."_ Axel changed the subject as he nudged one of the countless corpses littered around him with the tip of his shoe.

"_Silver Linings, eh?"_ Mark laughed as he tilted his head backwards and looked up towards the night sky, it was so peaceful compared to how it had seemed just 20 minutes ago. By now there wasn't a single trace of the blue hue that had smothered the skyline when The Joker had activate the disruptor and despite the smell of smoke and the odd scream every now and then, Gotham City actually seemed kind of peaceful? Mark had to admit, it made him feel oddly uneasy.

While oddly peaceful, the Night Sky wasn't completely clear, as not too far away on the horizon Mark managed to spot what looked like a bright purple helicopter speeding through the air and making a beeline right towards the roof of the now almost completely destroyed Sionis Industries building.

"_Oh shit, what now?"_ Axel moaned as he placed his hands onto his hips and looked towards the approaching airship with a scowl.

"_Trouble, that's what..."_

* * *

Cold stood and continued to glare down at the giggling figure on his knees from the end of his gun, but hesitated for just a moment when he heard what sounded like a Helicopter somewhere in the distance drawing closer and closer towards the roof. Turning his head away from The Joker for just a split second, Cold looked out across the wide expanse of City for some sign of approaching Copter when The Joker took complete advantage of the situation, lunging forward and slamming another serrated blade deep into Cold's stomach and dragging the blade upwards, the knife slicing through Cold's skin effortlessly like a warm knife cutting through butter.

"_Oops, clumsy me..." _The Joker whispered in to his opponents ears as he slipped the blade out of Cold's stomach and tossed it down onto the ground.

Gasping aloud and feeling his legs failing him, Cold couldn't stop a pathetic sob from escaping his lips as he felt to the ground and automatically placed his hands down tight over the wide gash currently running up his stomach. He was losing blood way too quickly, at this rate he wouldn't last 10 minutes. Oh god no, he hadn't come all this way to die right at the last hurdle.

Staring down at the mortally wounded Rogue with his trademark smirk once again present on his bruised, battered and bloodied features, The Joker placed his hands into his pockets and whistled a jaunty tune as he begun walking towards the edge of the rooftop.

"_'Game Set and Match' Snart. House wins!_" The Joker taunted as a garish looking bright purple Helicopter rose from down the side of the building and hovered right on the edge of the roof. On the side of the Helicopter facing them, the doors swung wide open and more Clown-Masked Henchmen could be seen from within.

Nodding towards their wounded leader, one of the masked men reached their arms out to help their employer into the Helicopter. Turning his head over his shoulder and winking playfully at the bleeding figure laying on the ground, The Joker grabbed the masked man's arm and jumped forward and into the Helicopter in one swift movement.

"_Sorry Snart, It's been fun but I'm afraid Papa J's gotta dash!"_ The Joker said as the plane slowly begun to rise higher into the air _"And don't worry, I'll be sure to send flowers to your grave... if I remember that is." _

At first, Cold tried to force himself up and after the plane, but roared in pure agony as the wound in his stomach seemed to widen, spitting blood out furiously as he moved even slightly. That wasn't too clever. Before anger made him too reckless however, Cold couldn't help but crack a weary smile as he noticed a group of dark grey storm-clouds suddenly forming over the rising Helicopter.

Oh Mardon, good old reliable Mardon. If Cold somehow managed to make it through this then he would have to kiss him.

"_Hey, Joker, i've got a question for you!"_ Cold managed to shout, his eyelids becoming heavy the longer he forced himself to remain conscious.

"_Pfft, What is it Cappy? You've gotta be quick now. So many people to kill, so little time my sweet!"_ The Joker replied, not noticing the now wild looking storm brewing just a few feet above his fabled getaway vehicle.

"_Do you know what happens when a Clown get's struck by lightening?"_ Cold forced out.

"_Hmm, can't say I do? Care to enlighten me?"_

"_The same thing that happens to everything else asshole! I'll see you in hell Clown!"_ Cold shrieked with a frosty laugh as the mass of clouds above the Helicopter finally peaked and a burning white shot of Lightening sprung free from the clouds, connecting directly with the tail of the Helicopter and blowing it to smithereens.

From inside the plane, Cold could see the panic instantly hit the Pilot and everyone else inside the aircraft as he lost control, the plane spiralling out of control and spinning around wildly in the air as it begun to crash down towards the cold concrete streets of the city below at a terrifying pace.

Cold moaned and gripped his stomach tighter, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood pouring from his stomach. He couldn't help but grin though as he heard The Joker's trademark psychotic laughter being silence by the plane crashing down onto the streets below and instantly exploding upon impact.

Cold sighed contently as he allowed his head to fall back against the roof, his vision hazy as the smell of smoke danced around his nostrils.

"_He who laughs last, laughs the hardest... or something like that."_ Cold whispered to himself with a smirk as his eyes finally slipped shut and the word around him faded to black.

* * *

"Hello, Welcome to 'Good Morning Gotham', I'm Vicki Vale and I'm reporting live from outside Sionis Industries in Central Gotham, or more appropriately, the site of the most recent terror attack on our fair City.

In what the GCPD are calling the most ferocious attack on the City in the last 30 years, both Roman Sionis, better known as the crime lord Black Mask, and The Joker went head to head as part of an ongoing territory war that spiralled violently out of control.

According to reports, The Black Mask and the self-proclaimed The Clown Prince of Crime have been duelling for several months now over what the GDCP believe to be a dispute over Territory, but it was only when The Joker enlisted outside help that the tides truly turned in his favour. Driving Sionis out of his own building, The Joker used this once peaceful building as the launch site for his most ambitious and deadly plot to destroy the City yet using what we're told was some sort of Militarized Sonic Disruptor

After a viscous battle between the warring forces, The Joker's disruptor was destroyed and the day was saved thanks to the combined efforts of both Gotham's own Dark Knight and Central City's Scarlet Speedster, The Flash.

According to Eye Witnesses, The Joker attempted to flee the scene by air after his plan failed, but his plane was struck down by a bolt of Lightening in an apparent freak accident. For the last few hours police have been going over the crash scene with a metaphorical fine-tooth comb and so far 3 bodies have been found and are in the process of identification.

We reached out to the GDCP for an official comment and we're yet to receive one, however according to our source within the GCPD they will be confirming later on this afternoon that The Joker was not among the casualties of the crash.

On a more positive note, Roman Sionis was picked up by local police a few hours ago after his car was sent flying off the road during the initial wave of The Joker's attack. While his driver is said to have suffered severe injuries, Sionis himself survived the crash relatively unscathed and is currently being held in the GCPD waiting to be officially questioned in regards to his involvement in last nights attack.

Ms Kelly Li – Mr. Sionis's public representative – issued the following statement when questioned.

"_Mr Sionis is currently co-operating fully with the Police to assure the proper people are brought to justice over this horrific and unforgivable attack on the City. Mr Sionis is not currently under any criminal investigation and is helping the GCPD with their own investigation to clear his good name and the name of his Company. At this point time Mr. Sionis doesn't wish to say anything else on the matter."_

In other news, Lazlo Valentin – better known as Professor Pyg – was arrested this morning after an anonymous tip helped lead to his capture. Valentin is also currently being held at Central Processing within the GCPD and is also being questioned over his involvement in last nights attack after the creatures he calls 'Doll-O-Trons' were spotted all around the City just moments before the attack.

Finally, Dr Harleen Quinzel – better known as Harley Quinn – surrendered herself over to law enforcement and is currently back at 'Arkham Asylum' for yet another round of rehabilitation and therapy.

According to Commissioner James Gordon, Quinzel was instrumental in The Joker's downfall after working as an informant for both Batman and The Flash, helping to bring a stop to the Sonic Disruptor before any irreversible damage was done. Gordon went on to say that while another round of therapy is unavoidable for Ms Quinzel, the courts are more than likely going to be more lenient to her when it comes to sentencing since without her help the City would have more than certainly been destroyed.

We're about to take a short break, but when we return we have an exclusive interview with Nightwing himself and an exclusive look at LexCorps plans to set up shop in Gotham.

I'm Vikki Vale and I'll see you after the break.


	13. The One Where Things Get Back To Normal

Sunlight begun to creep through the slits in the curtains and started to ever so slowly fill every corner of the room with it's irritating glow and radiating warmth. Currently lay on his back covered from his neck to his toe in a thin cotton blanket, one solitary beam of light crept up over the rectangular frame of the mattress and found itself fixed right across Cold's eyes, stirring the sleeping male from his uneasy slumber and dragging him back into the waking world kicking and screaming.

"_Shit..."_ Cold muttered silently to himself as he turned his head over to avoid the suns unforgiving rays. _"What time is it?"_

All at once, a gigantic wave of powerful emotions overcame him and forced a guttural moan from his lips, a throbbing pain in his lower stomach knocking the wind from him as his body finally begun to wake up with the rest of him. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as the pain destroying his stomach gradually begun to make itself at home in the pit of his belly, Cold was struggling to remember a time in his life where he felt as bad as he did in that exact moment.

Cold's mouth was unbelievably dry like he hadn't drank in days. His ears had an odd and seemingly unshakable ringing noise pounding through them that Cold was sure would lead to an unforgiving headache sooner rather than later. Perhaps most strangely enough his stomach felt like it had been tore wide open before being forced back together, albeit incorrectly if the heaviness was anything to go on. It didn't take much for Cold to decide that doing anything even remotely physical was completely off the cards for the moment.

Just how did he get into this wretched state? As far as Cold could remember he didn't owe anyone money, at least not anyone capable of doing this to him anyway.

It wouldn't have been one of his Rogues, at least he didn't think one of them would do this to him, although truthfully he wouldn't put it past them.

It wouldn't have been The Flash, he was far too moral to try and mortally wound someone. At least Cold thought so anyway. He hadn't pushed The Flash far enough yet to test that theory out and with how he was feeling now Cold honestly wasn't sure if he was ever going to risk it.

As Cold continued to mull over the seemingly countless theory's as to why he was in this state, a flash of green, red and white mixed together with maniacal laughter appeared behind his sealed eyes and Cold couldn't help but pout at the sudden realisation.

Oh right, that'd be why.

Sitting up in his bed and failing to silence a pathetic moan as he did so, Cold puffed out a tired sounding sigh as he pushed the thin blanket down to just above his waist and forced his back down flat onto the solid wooden headboard behind him, his right hand instinctively moving up along his body and placing itself down tenderly over the wide, red stitched gash running up his pale stomach.

If Cold were being completely honest with himself, he was genuinely lucky to be alive all things considered. Just how many folk went up against The Joker and actually lived to tell the tail? That said, he was feeling too sorry for himself to really think straight so Cold put a pin in that line of thought and got straight back to sulking.

Dear lord, Why was it always Cold who had to get gored?

As he'd come to expect living with as many people as he did, Cold wasn't left alone with his thoughts for all that long before someone decided to intrude on his precious privacy by making their way into his room. Thanks to the sunbeams that had intruded on his slumber, it wasn't hard to make out just who the figure entering the room was. Thankfully for Cold, it was only Hartley.

"_Oh! You're... you're up." _Hartley said. _"Hmm, I estimated that you'd have been out for a few more days when they first brought you back. Impressive if nothing else"_

"_Not even a 'Oh Lenny, I'm so glad your okay' eh? Typical Piper. Anyway, what're you doing in my room"_ Cold said with as much of a smirk as the pain in his stomach would allow him to make.

"_Hmph. Well you know me. I'd be lying if I said I cared either way, but if you must know Lisa's had all of us all watching you on a strict schedule and low and behold, It's was my turn to keep watch. Didn't look like you were going to pull through, so she decided being overly cautious was better than having a dead brother." _Hartley replied flippantly as he moved himself forward and sat down on the foot of the bed. "_Loving the grey chest-hair by the way. Very macho."_

Cold blushed slightly at the other's remarks and pulled the blanket up to cover his torso, suddenly feeling very exposed and oddly self-conscious in front of Hartley. There were few things he hated on this planet more than how easily Piper managed to get under his skin.

"_Bravado aside, how are you feeling?" _Hartley asked, looking up towards Cold with a rather indifferent look on his face.

"_Like shit. Going toe-to-toe with The Joker'll do that to you, or so I'm told."_ Cold replied with a shrug. _"Can't wait to hear what Luthor's got to say about this."_

"_Tell me about it." _Hartley replied dryly as he gestured timidly towards his badly battered and bruised face and then towards his bandaged wrists. Cold winced at the sight of Hartley's injuries and recoiled back into the head board. Christ alive. The Joker really had done a number on poor old Hartley Rathaway. Cold almost felt sorry for the little twerp. Almost.

"_I'd say 'Thank you' for killing him for me, but I've got a feeling I'd have to join a pretty long line of scorned citizens if I wanted to do that. I've heard that he wasn't exactly he most popular character around Gotham." _Hartley said sardonically as he delicately rubbed his bandaged wrists in a circular motion, seemingly unaware he was doing so.

"_I wouldn't thank me just yet Piper. I'm willing to bet they haven't found a body among the planes wreckage, right?" _Cold said, wishing nothing more than that Hartley was about to prove him wrong on this occasion.

"_And Bingo was his name-o." _Hartley said monotonously as he slowly begun to clap at Cold's reply. _"The GCPD confirmed that the clowns corpse wasn't among those inside the wreckage. That said, Black Mask and Pyg are still locked up in the GCPD last I heard, so it's not all bad news." _Hartley confirmed with a shrug while Cold couldn't hold back the defeated sigh that followed. All that shit and the Clown wasn't even dead. Can't a guy catch a break?

"_Still, It's impressive you knew that the clown's corpse wasn't among the wreckage. Who knew you were a psychic? If this whole 'Cold-Pun Slinging Bastard' thing doesn't work out for you, I'd be willing to bet you could give Miss Cleo a run for her money with your own Psychic Network" _Hartley said as he continued to fawn over his wounded wrists, not paying all that much attention to Cold either way.

"_Ha. You always were so witty Hartley. Shame your constant need for validation always found a way of hiding that." _Cold said with a sneer while Hartley couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"_And just like that, I feel less bad about wishing that The Joker had killed you up on that rooftop. If only he'd thrust that Knife just an inch or so deeper then we wouldn't be having this conversation. Ah well, one can dream." _Hartley said playfully while Cold barked out a hoarse sounding laugh. If nothing else, the obnoxious little shit was funny.

For a moment, they both sat in what Cold would describe as awkward silence. It was a pretty well known fact that the two never really got along, Hartley's abrupt dismissal from The Rogues last time was testament to that, but honestly Cold didn't have the energy to engage in a war of the words with the younger male sitting at the foot of his bed. Who'd have though both of them almost being killed by The Joker would bring a momentary end to their legendary feud. If the Clown hadn't tried to gore him not too long ago, Cold might have had to thank him.

"_Right, I really hate to ask, but where are we and how many days have I been out." _Cold eventually asked, trepidation dripping from his tone as he spoke.

"_I was wondering when you'd finally sum up the courage to ask. Fret not, it's not been that long. As of right now you're in Axel's old bedroom in your very own apartment, so we're back in Central City. And I'm happy to report you've only been in that coma for Ten days. Pretty impressive if you ask me. I genuinely had money on you not pulling through. Looks like I owe Axel twenty bucks."_ Hartley said a bit too casually for Cold's liking.

"_Honestly at this point, I think having not survived would be easier than this. Every inch of my body feels like it's on fire." _Cold admitted almost bashfully as he rubbed the aching wound on his stomach tenderly.

"_You're saying that now, but at least the rest of the Rogues actually cared enough about you to have bothered saving you. You may have all travelled to Gotham to come to my much appreciated rescue, but the second those Doll-O-Trons attacked the motel Axel and Mark took off without so much letting me know."_ Hartley said, an unmistakable tone of betrayal lacing his tone as he recounted the events of that fateful night in Gotham. Up at the top of the bed, Cold tried his best not too, but honestly couldn't help but laugh at Hartley's plight.

"_What are you laughing at?"_ Hartley asked. _"It's not funny Len! They took off without so much as a warning. I was left at that damn motel while they ran of too your rescue!"_ Hartley exclaimed, while Cold's laughter rang around the room.

Even though with every hearty chuckle it felt as though his stomach was about to explode, that little tale was too funny not to laugh at. Not dying on that rooftop might have its benefits after all.

* * *

The next few weeks passed by in a flash, no pun intended.

Without so much as a hitch the five Rogues, and Hartley too since it would seem that he didn't have any plans to actually get out of the apartment, had all settled back into what seemed to be some level of twisted domesticity.

Mark and Axel had apparently taken their surviving all the madness in Gotham City as a sign that it was time too kick their relationship up a notch, as according to Lisa they hadn't even been in the apartment for five whole minutes before Axel begun the long arduous process of moving all his stuff into what was now both his and Mark's room. Cold had to admit, he was oddly happy for the pair of them.

Lisa seemed to have decided to split her time between caring for her brother and sneaking out of the apartment, probably to see whoever this mystery beau of hers was. As of yet Cold and the rest of her house-mates were yet to get a name of this mystery man or woman, but much like everything else that happened within these four walls the truth would surface eventually. Living with five super-criminals usually saw that secrets didn't remain so, for too long anyway.

Cold's rehabilitation however was plodding along at an agonizingly slow rate. It was going on four weeks since that night at Gotham and as of yet Cold couldn't even get up to go to the bathroom without someone walking him to and from like some sad old man. As demeaning as it was, whenever he felt the need to complain about this, and anything else for that matter, Lisa never failed to bring up the fact that Cold was lucky to be alive.

Besides having the opportunity to laugh in Hartley's face about his being left behind back in Gotham however, Cold was yet to feel all that lucky.

Then there was Mick. Where to begin...

Ever since he was a child, Cold hadn't really ever relied on anyone, it's just how things were. From a very young age he'd learned to care for himself and had tried his best to care for Lisa at the same time. Growing up with a abusive parental figure tends to force unwanted maturity down children throats, and Cold was no exception to the rule. It was a horrible and self-destructive way to live, but it was just the way things were. No point in swimming against the tide. Cold had made peace with it, unfortunately it seems that Mick had not.

Ever since that fatefully morning where he had somehow managed to drag himself from the throes of death itself, Mick had decided that being overly clingy and hanging around Cold like a bad smell was the best way to help his on-off lover. A rather infamously solitary creature at heart, needless to say Mick's constant outpouring of affection wasn't exactly to Cold's refined tastes.

The constant kissing and cuddling wasn't even the worst part of it. Cold couldn't do anything around his own apartment without Mick following him around like a damn puppy. If Mick wasn't offering him a seat, he was offering to make him meals. If he wasn't doing that, he was getting him drinks. If he wasn't doing that, he was fluffing Cold's pillow and all that lovey-dovey crap that Cold really couldn't stand.

Never in his life would Cold ever dream of admitting it to a living soul, but under different circumstance then maybe Cold would have found Mick's protective gestures romantic or something along those lines, instead his constant attention was making him feel like a fucking invalid whenever he saw Mick coming his way. Not exactly ideal.

Lisa had mentioned to Mark and Axel that it was only a matter of time before things blew up inside that apartment. As per usual, turned out Lisa was right. It was unfortunate however that everything seemed to blow up the second a knife was involved.

* * *

"_Mick, Next time you come near me I'm going to cut your fucking eyes out. Take a step back and get out of my face already!"_ Cold snapped, turning his attention away from the still unprepared sandwich on the counter in front of him and brandishing the buttered knife in his hands right at Mick in a wild display of aggression. Mick in turn had thrown his hands up to eye level and was backing away from the knife-wielding Rogue before him incredibly slowly.

"_I'm just trying to help Lenny! C'mon, don't be difficult. You need all the help you can get right now!"_ Mick said incredulously while Cold continued to point the knife towards him.

"_I'm making a fucking sandwich Mick, I don't need you hovering around me like a fucking ghost!" _Cold spat out as he inched further away from the counter and towards Mick, the knife in his hands still held tightly and pointing right towards Mick's neck. _"Now get lost before I do something you'll regret!"_

The pair seemed far too wrapped up in their little stand-off to notice that Axel had sat himself down on a stool and was now sitting right up against the counter, watching the escalating feud with a Cheshire like grin on his face and his phone held in his hands, recording every second of the fight to enjoy later.

"_Jesus Chris Lenny, enough already. I'll go."_ Mick muttered in reply as heaved out a stressed sounding sigh and finally took the hint, dropping his hands to his sides as he slunk out of the kitchen area with his head hanging down like a berated child.

"_Fucking hell..."_ Cold whispered to himself as he placed one hand back onto his still achingly sore stomach and used the other to balance himself off of the counter, letting the buttered knife drop down onto the floor as he tried to calm himself down.

Cold was self-aware enough to admit that perhaps his treatment of Mick right now could have been seen as an over-reaction, but after weeks of dealing with this constant nonsense he'd had just about enough of it. He was never planning on actually stabbing Mick, but if that's what it took to get a few moments of peace in this damn apartment then he'd have to start carrying a knife around with him everywhere he went.

Turning back around to look towards the still unmade sandwich lying on the counter, Cold froze dead in his tracks as he saw Axel, who by this point had shifted his stool around the counter, with his elbows planted down firmly onto the counter as he finished what looked to be the final bite of Cold's precious sandwich.

"_What? You know you can't leave food laying about with me around dude. Grievously Injured or not, ya snooze ya lose big guy."_ Axel said with a shrug and a sadistic giggle as he rose from his spot at the counter and walked out of the kitchen area with a spring in his step.

Still frozen on the spot, Cold couldn't help the pathetic sounding moan that escaped his lips as he lamented the loss of his precious sandwich. He'd almost been killed by a psychotic clown for god sake, why was the universe out to get him recently? Things for Cold got infinitely worse when he remembered that he'd just used the last two pieces of bread to try and make that sandwich in the first place.

Oh well, there was nothing else too it. He'd just have to burn the apartment down.

* * *

Things inside the Rogues shared apartment continued to get more volatile as tensions continued to mount. Despite the ever growing threats of violence and other such dramatics, Mick continued to try and force his help onto the still wounded Cold, who in turn continued to act his namesake whenever Mick approached him, which in turn made Mick try harder and harder to get his companion to open up to him. It really was a vicious cycle, and while the others found it amusing for a little while, several weeks into the same routine things were finally beginning to feel a little bit stale.

Sensing that a storm worse than that which Mark could whip up in his wildest dreams was going to hit the little apartment if her brother was locked up in there for one more day, Lisa took it upon herself to decide that it was best if she dragged her older brother out of the house for a spell to try and give him a break from the constant attention being forced upon him by the unwitting Mick.

Upon hearing that Mick was banned from said outing, Cold couldn't have agreed to it quicker.

* * *

Cold had to hand it to Lisa, getting out of that apartment for even just the afternoon was wonderfully refreshing, especially since this little outing was one that didn't include the ever clingy Mick.

Currently sat in the corner booth of a small diner just off the main street and Town Hall, Cold leaned back in his chair and carefully nursed the piping hot cup of coffee held tenderly in his hands while across from him both Mark and Lisa continued to chat amongst themselves without any sign of slowing down.

Cold wondered to himself if this was the same cafe that Lisa, Mark and Axel had come too last time after they'd held up the mall a few months prior, but didn't really care enough to ask.

Normally being excluded from the conversation would leave Cold feeling a touch put out, but without sounding dramatic just being allowed to be left alone with his thoughts was more than he could ask for considering how hectic his life had become in the last few months. As someone who placed some level of peace and quiet as a top priority to retaining his sanity, it was nice to finally just lose himself in his thoughts.

"_Hey Len, Mark asked you a Question!"_ Lisa snapped from besides him, forcefully dragging Cold out from his moment of peace and quiet and back into the conversation. Cold had yet to decide if he was relieved or disappointed to finally be a part of it. For now he was going to go with 'Disappointed'.

"_Huh? Oh sorry Mark, seems that I'm not really all that with it today. What were you saying?"_ Cold said with a wince as he turned his frame around in his seat to face Mark more clearly.

"_I was just asking how you were since you were being awful quiet, but that answers that I suppose."_ Mark said with a cocky smirk as he took a sip from his own cup of coffee.

"_That it does my friend. I'm about as on the ball as a dead seal today. Getting gored will do that to you." _Cold said in a mocking tone, placing a hand down onto the long scar underneath his shirt while Mark laughed and Lisa just shook her head.

"_Oh my god. You're never going to let that go are you? Would you like some wax for your cross Lenny?"_ Lisa sneered, only just managing to resist the urge to elbow her brother in his side.

"_Well I was gored Lisa. I think a little sympathy isn't too much to ask." _Cold replied without missing a beat, much to Marks amusement.

"_You've had almost six weeks of sympathy Lenny. No one asked you to go toe-to-toe with The Joker after The Flash stopped the disruptor, but then again, subtlety isn't a word in your vocabulary is it?" Lisa_ said curtly while Cold threw her a wicked glare in reponse.

Before anyone had a chance to say much else, the tension almost immediately dissipated when Mark's phone, currently laying face-down on the table, started to vibrate. Turning his attention away from the feuding siblings, Mark looked down towards the phone and snatched it up off the table. For the briefest moment, Lisa glanced down at the phone, making a strange face when she saw who it was. It was Julie.

"_Sorry. I uh, I gotta take this."_ Mark said as without another word he rose to his feet and paced on up and out of the diner.

"_Jesus. That can't be good."_ Lisa replied as the door to the cafe finally closed back over behind Mark.

"_What do you mean? Who was calling?"_ Cold asked.

"_Julie. Julie Jackham. Y'know, Marks ex."_ Lisa said, her eyes now trained before her on the window, watching Mark pace back and forward outside with his phone placed up onto his ear.

"_I know who Julie is Lis. She's little Josh's Mom. Why is her calling him a bad thing though? I thought they were on good terms?"_ Cold said.

"_They are. It's just... Uh... I don't know if I should be the one to be telling you this..." _Lisa admitted.

"_Lisa, what's happened?"_ Cold asked, sitting forward and looking towards his sister with widened eyes and a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Lisa was acting coy about something, then you could bet it was bad.

"_Uh... well, Julie's si..." _Lisa started, before the sound of rapturous applause outside drew their conversation to a rather abrupt halt.

Across the street at the bottom of the steps into the City's Town Hall, an unbelievably large crowd of Central City citizens had gathered and were all screaming and cheering wildly as they stood wide eyed and looking upwards towards a tall dark skinned woman stood halfway up the steps into the Hall wearing sleek bottle-green suit, surrounded by a team of burly, stone faced security men.

The woman in question was one Rosalind Dillon, an up-and-coming candidate from the Democratic Party who over the last few weeks had declared her candidacy for the upcoming Central City Mayoral Election.

Standing over 6 feet tall, Dillon towered over the citizens beneath her rather noticeably. That said, not once did Rosalind ever stop beaming down towards the citizens crowded before her with open arms, saying something Cold couldn't quite pick up on from within the diner. If the wild sounding roar from the crowd that followed her remarks was anything to go on, whatever she had to say had went down well.

After being bed-ridden for close almost two whole months, Cold's had officially made his way through his 'Mob Wives' box-set and had decided that instead of subjecting himself to yet another reality TV show he'd undoubtedly become addicted too that keeping up with what was happening in the real world was a better idea than the alternative.

News Channels were never Cold's favourites to be fair. Living the life of a wanted criminal made him feel a little jaded towards the news and their unforgiving views on his lifestyle, but luckily for him news of what had happened in Gotham had gotten old quickly and most stations had moved on to covering the upcoming election, and more importantly, letting anyone watching know each and every single detail about the potential candidates. While most of them were scum Cold wouldn't even piss on if they were on fire, a certain Ms. Dillon had managed to attract Cold's attention for reason's he couldn't quite explain.

Her views and goals were nothing special in his opinion in his opinion, but out of the current roster of potential candidates Cold would be voting for her if he could. That said, something about her seemed... off. Dillon was too smiley, too warm and far too pleasant to be genuine. Cold couldn't quite place his finger on what exactly it was that had left him feeling this way, but his instincts hadn't ever proven wrong before, best to just keep on trusting them until it got him into trouble.

Before he had time to stew over his feelings of discontent where Ms. Dillon was concerned, a sharp jab to his side once again dragged Cold out of his line of thought and back into the conversation.

"_You really aren't with it at all are you? What is it about the infamous Ms. Dillon that's got you acting like you've just had a Lobotomy Len?" _Lisa teased as besides her, Cold merely shrugged in response.

"_Sheesh, Cut me some slack already sis. Now, what were you saying about Julie?"_ Cold asked as he moved the chair around so he was properly facing Lisa, and also so he was out of the reach of her pointy and painful elbows. He couldn't quite stop himself from keeping at least the slightest modicum of her attention trained on the crowd gathered outside the Town Hall though. If nothing else the would-be Mayors ability to drum up hysteria in the citizens of Central City was something to be admired.

"_Uh, It's not good news Len. Julie's... uhh, Julie's dying."_ Lisa said hesitantly, her body language tensing up before his very eyes as she awaited her brothers reply.

"_What? What do you mean dying?" _Cold asked frantically.

"_She's got tumours in her say they're inoperable. Apparently she's got maybe a month or two too live. Mark's been taking it about as well as expected..." _Lisa explained in a hushed tone.

"_Holy shit. I can't believe it. When did he find that out?"_ Cold asked, the weight of the news hadn't quite hit him yet.

"_The day after we all got back from Gotham. Seems she's been sick for a while but has been keeping it to herself. To be completely honest, both Mark and Julie seem more concerned about how they're going to break the news to Josh." _Lisa said with a defeated sounding puff as she tried and failed to relax herself back into her chair.

"_Jesus Christ... Can't believe I didn't know. I must've looked like a real ass, spending all that time talking about me when he's going through that."_Cold admitted, feeling the shock beginning to fade and the sadness slowly taking its place.

"_You didn't know. Plus, the rest of us have kind of picked up the slack."_ Lisa replied with a dismissive yet somehow understanding shrug of her shoulders._ "That said, I've gotta hand it Axel. He's really stepped up to the mark, no pun intended. Ever since he found out he's been there for Mark, Julie and Josh. His new-found maturity is helping him win the title of 'Best Boyfriend Ever'."_ Lisa said with a smirk.

"_Axel? Mature? This is the same guy who just last week stole my sandwich right from under me. You sure I didn't die up on that rooftop?"_ Cold asked with a chuckle while next to him Lisa just shook her head, although the slight smirk on her lips betrayed her otherwise frost demeanour.

Sucking in a shaky sounding breath, Cold placed both his hands down onto the table and pushed himself up onto his feet, making his way through the diner and towards the front door and after Mark. Turning his head over his shoulder to look back at Lisa as he went, Cold nodded towards her and continued to hobble towards the door.

"_Right, well I'm away to clear the air. And when I get back we're going to have a serious discussion about this mysterious beau of yours you've yet to tell me about" _Cold finished with a devilish grin while back at the table, Lisa's face turned the brightest shade of red he'd ever seen.

* * *

Cold stepped out of the cafe and into the light of the afternoon sun, his hand flying up to his face to shield his eyes from the ball of fire's unforgiving rays.

Across the street from him the rally was still in full swing, although at a glance it didn't look as though Rosalind was still actively encouraging the spiking madness. Looking to his left, then right, Cold sighed aloud when he saw Mark standing to the side of the cafe with his back pressed against the stone wall of the building with a lit-cigarette handing haphazardly from his lips. Shit, that wasn't good.

One of the many thing Cold and Mark had in common seemed to be the nasty habit of having a smoke whenever things got a bit more stressful than they were used to. Getting through to him could be harder than originally anticipated.

Exhaling silently, Cold placed his hands into the pockets of his Parka and strolled over to Mark, saying nothing as he stood next to his friend and leaned back against the wall too.

"_Got a smoke?"_ Cold asked while next to him, Mark said nothing as he reached into the pocket on the inside of his jacket and withdrew a single cigarette, handing the cigarette and a disposable lighter over towards Cold, who accepted them with a grateful nod.

"_Thanks."_ Cold muttered back as be begun spinning the cigarette between his fingertips, delaying actually smoking it for the time being. Cold couldn't be sure, and he certainly wasn't going to ask, but it almost looked as though Mark had been crying.

Raising the stick up to his mouth and placing it snugly between his barely parted lips, Cold raised the lighter up to the tip and lit the cigarette, puffing on it once or twice while the two men continued to stand facing the crowd in front of them in complete silence.

"_So..." _Cold started, balancing the cigarette between his lips as he turned to look up at Mark. _"You wanna talk about it."_

"_Not really." _Mark's replied eventually, his voice low and gravely as he continued to stare daggers at anyone who was unfortunate enough to make eye contact with him.

"_Fair enough."_ Cold replied with a shrug as he puffed in yet another draw from the ever-dwindling cigarette. _"Without getting all sentimental, Just know that I am here to listen if you need me."_

Next to him, Mark looked down towards Cold with a curious look on his face. For a moment, Cold genuinely though that he was about to face the wrath of the infamous Weather Wizard, but after a few moments of tense unrelenting silence Mark heaved out an exhausted sounding sigh and sunk down onto the pavement below with a hollow sounding thump.

Shrugging his shoulders and deciding to throw caution to the wind, Cold once again clamped his hand down hard onto his stomach and followed Mark's example, leaning back against the wall and sliding down onto the floor to sit side by side with his friend.

For the next few minutes, the pair sat in in a comfortable silence, content with just smoking on the dwindling cigarettes in their mouths and watching the oddly contagious enthusiasm across the street continue to grow more and more uncontrollable, chuckling amongst themselves as the citizens continued to embarrass themselves over some pathetically unimportant new politician on the scene. Sometimes, these idiots were just beyond belief. It made Cold feel less bad about the multitude of heist's he was planning on pulling once he was back to full health.

"_Thanks Lenny..." _Mark eventually said without turning to face Cold, flicking the now finished cigarette down into the gutter a few feet ahead of them.

For a second, Cold genuinely considered being his usual snarky self, but thankfully Cold had enough common sense to push those annoying urges to the side. Raising one hand up and resting it down onto Mark's shoulder, Cold squeezed gently on it as some pathetic little display of comfort. Oh god, Cold wasn't good at this at all.

"_Don't mention it... buddy" _Cold said hesitantly, wincing at his pathetic little awkward display of comradely while next to him, Mark couldn't help but chuckle. Glad to see someone found his support not completely tragic.

Almost like a sign from God himself, the need to continue on with being a moral support for his eternally broody friend was cut short when from within his jacket pocket Cold's mobile phone begun to vibrate.

"_Oh god... guess I better check that." _Cold muttered as he withdrew his hand from Marks shoulder and begun fishing inside his jacket pocket for his phone.

Pulling the device out and into the sunlight, Cold swiped in his pin and couldn't help but grimace at the message he had received.

"Enough is enough Len, We Need to Talk.

Mick"

Oh shit.


	14. The One Where Everything Comes To A Head

The ride back to their apartment was, unsurprisingly, somewhat frosty. Since receiving Mick's text not even half an hour ago, Cold had retreated into an unbreakable silence that neither Lisa nor Mark dared to try and break. If living with him over the last six months or so had taught them anything, it was that when Cold got himself into one of his little moods it was best just to let him ride it out and hope to God that it didn't last too long. Luckily for them, the usual hi-jinks and shenanigans the Rogues always seemed to find themselves embroiled in was usually just the ticket to force Cold out of his bad mood and back into the position of their beloved and often stoic leader. Unfortunately for them, something about Cold's current bad mood seemed to be sticking.

Ever since receiving that strange little message from Mick, Cold couldn't shake the feeling that something very bad was going to happen very soon. Truth be told, in his line of work feeling as though something terrible was about to happen was a constant, after all in the last six months alone he and the rest of the Rogues had went toe-to-toe with Grodd, The Joker, Professor Pyg and Black Mask and – barely - lived to brag about it. However there was just something about Mick's text that wasn't sitting right with him.

Mick and Cold's interactions had always been somewhat confusing at best. More often than not they fought like cat and dog for hours on end, only to then find themselves screwing like wild animals that very same night. Yeah, 'confusing' was certainly an apt description for it.

Some would comment that the peculiar 'Hot and Cold' style to their relationship was ironic, but then again on all his years on the planet Cold was yet to come across anyone that was stupid enough to comment on his private life.

When the van finally begun the slow approach to their apartment building, the wheels hadn't even stopped turning yet before the right hand side passenger door flung wide open and Cold hopped out of the vehicle and onto the solid ground below, hoping that no one saw him stumble and wince when his feet connected with the ground and he lost his balance for just a millisecond. Right about now Cold really wished he'd paid attention to Axel's advice and just bought a damn cane.

Before Cold had managed to get too far ahead of the other two, the feeling of someone grabbing on to his shoulders forced Cold to a complete and unwelcome halt.

"_Lenny, what the hell are you doing?!"_ Lisa hissed from behind him, using all her strength to spin her brother around to face her.

"_Going to see what the hell it is that Mick wants Lis. Is that alright with you?"_ Cold spat back, venomous sarcasm dripping from his tone as he glared down at his sister.

"_Not if you're going to be an ass about it, no!" _Lisa shot back without a moments hesitation. Cold would admit, he was pretty taken aback by that._"What's going on with you today? I asked Mark what happened and all he said was you got a text and then suddenly you clammed up. What's happened now?"_

"_Not that's it's any of your business." _Cold said_ "But I got a text from Mick. Apparently he wants to talk with me A.S.A.P."_

"_Oh for god sake, of course it's got something to do with Mick." _Lisa moaned, rolling her eyes as she spoke.

Cold couldn't help the red flush that suddenly overcame his cheeks as Lisa spoke so flippantly about the matter at hand, suddenly feeling like an embarrassed child in front of his much younger sister. Cold could almost literally feel his power base slipping. Had this constant back-and-forward between himself and Mick become so predictable?

Pushing down any feelings other than the righteous fury currently coursing through his veins like a potent poison, Cold shrugging his shoulders wildly and successfully managed to break Lisa's hold over him, immediately turning around and making his way forward towards the entrance of their apartment building.

"_Hey! Hold it right there!" _Lisa hollered after him, jogging to catch up as he stormed off and away from her. _"You don't get to shut me out Len. Not again. Now be honest, what's going on with Mick?"_

"_I DON'T KNOW? ALRIGHT?!" _Cold screamed, turning around to face his sister once again, only this time with wide bulging eyes and a burning red face. _"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW. THERE, YOU HAPPY?!"_

"_Woah! Calm down already! Jesus Len. First of all..." _Lisa started plainly before she suddenly sunk a solid fist into the scar-less side of Cold's stomach, the man instantly doubling over as the wind was knocked out of him in one fell swoop._ "Second of all, you talk to me like that again and I'll be punch your testicles up and through your mouth. Are we clear.."_

"_C-Crystal" _Cold choked and gasped, desperately trying to suck some air back into his deflated lungs. Trust Lisa to go for the sucker punch.

Placing a hand on either knee, Cold moaned painfully as he willed himself to stand up straight, finding the pain from his scar, Lisa's punch and the stress revolving around Mick's god forsaken text message a little bit too much to deal with at that moment in time.

"_I'm sorry Lis, I'm just... really, really stressed. That's all."_ Cold admitted bashfully as he finally fond himself back in an upright position.

"_You're worried about what Mick's got to say, right? It's not often he works up the courage to demand a one-on-one with you is it?" _Lisa asked with an all-knowing smirk, one which Cold had really grown to despise over the years. _"I mean, can you blame him, you have been treating him like crap lately."_

"_Oh come on, don't tell me your seriously on his side?" _Cold asked incredulously. _"What happened to 'blood is thicker than water'?"_

"_After knowing him for almost seventeen years, Mick might as well be my brother too Len. And you have been treating him like crap as of late, that matter isn't up for debate." _Lisa said resolutely, giving Cold no room whatsoever to refute her statement.

"_Alright, I'll admit I've been a little short with Mick as of late, but he's been really, really grating on my nerves Lis. I know he means well, but..." _Cold started.

"_And that's exactly it Lenny! He means well! He really does!"_ Lisa said, interrupting Cold. _"He's doing all that because he's worried about you, and he's that worried about you because he loves you!"_

For the second time in just a few minutes Cold felt the wind being knocked out from within him. That word right there, that word scared Cold more than any killer clown or psychic gorilla ever could.

To Cold, love was such a foreign concept and one which over his many years on the planet he'd never truly familiarised himself with. It's not that he'd never felt love before, his strong familial bond with Lisa was testament to that, but something about the idea of being in actual 'love' with someone else made him feel all exposed, pathetic and vulnerable.

"_I uh... I don't think Mick's in love with me Lis, he's just..."_ Cold started, fumbling over his words pathetically before Lisa cut him off once again.

"_Oh for god sake, cut the shit Len. You've been partners in crime for almost two decades, living together for almost the same length of time and sleeping together for god knows how long!"_ Lisa said, her eyes wide and manic in disbelief as she spoke. _"That man has been by your side through thick and thin for years and years Len. When you needed help killing the Flash, Mick came back without a seconds hesitation, even after how you left things between you two the time before. When you needed someone to help with that whole Grodd mess you got us in to, Mick signed up instantly without even asking what you needed him to do. When you were in that damn coma for almost two weeks Mick stayed by your side 24/7 until the rest of us literally had to drag him away from your side! He's in love with you Len, and honestly I'm surprised you haven't seen it before."_

Hearing all of Lisa's reasons laid out on display like that stopped Cold's thoughts dead in their tracks. When you phrased everything like that_, _things between himself and Mick as of late actually begun to make a lot more sense.

In their seventeen years together, neither one of them had said the 'L' word, not properly anyway. Sure, they'd said it a couple of times, but only in the '_I love how you set people on fire_' kind of way, never in the '_I'm in love with you_' way that you see at the end of those silly Katherine Heigl Rom-Com movies.

Without sounding dim, the thought had never really crossed his mind either. Sure, He and Mick had certainly had a lot of fun over years, Living a life of crime together did make it kind of hard to lead a boring life, But was Mick really in love with him? Was he really in love with Mick? Could he imagine life without Mick? Did he want to imagine life without Mick?

Jesus, Cold's head was spinning. Leave it to Lisa to turn his entire perspective on life on it's side with just a few short, rather poignant words. How she managed to do that so often and with such ease Cold would never know.

It was at that moment in time Colds phone vibrated in his pocket and broke his train of thought. Fishing his phone out of his pocket with relative ease, Cold swiped it open and stared down at the text on the screen with a raised eyebrow. Oh for god sake.

Meet me at the Ferris Wheel on the Pier

30 Minutes. Don't be late.

Mick xxx

"_I take it from the sudden look of dread that's just appeared on your face that the text is from Mick, yes?"_ Lisa asked, standing up on her tip-toes to try and get a better look at the screen.

"_Wouldn't you like to know. But yes, It's from Mick."_ Cold said, snatching the phone out of Lisa's line of sight and forcing it back into his pocket in one swift movement.

"_Anyway, enough chit-chat. I've gotta get going. Mr. Rory has requested an audience with yours truly at the Pier. Guess I'd better get a move on..."_ Cold said, vanquishing all those feeling of uncertainty and confusion down into his deepest recesses and trying his best to slip into the cool and confident 'Captain Cold' persona he'd become so reliant on.

Whatever was about to happen with Mick at the Pier was the boiling point to an almost twenty year relationship. A relationship that in the last five minutes Cold had just come to the realisation might include that dreaded 'L' word.

"_Go." _Lisa said, placing her hand within her brothers and giving it a supporting squeeze. _"Go and make things right with your man already." _she teased.

"_My Man? Jesus Christ..." _Cold moaned.

"_Whats wrong with 'Your man' might is ask? I think it's cu.." _Lisa said with a wide and obnoxious grin on her face, which Cold couldn't help but notice had begun to fade from her features when she saw a bright yellow taxi slowly approaching the entrance to the building. _"Oh come on..."_

Within mere moment the taxi had come to a complete halt a few feet in front of them. Next to him, Cold saw Lisa's eyes widen and her hand suddenly unwrapped itself from his. Whatever was happening right now, it almost certainly had Cold's full attention.

"_No, No, No! I told him to circle around..."_ Lisa muttered to herself feverishly, while Cold couldn't help but crack a shit-eating grin at the sight. This wasn't Lisa's mystery beau making himself known to him now, was it? And just when Cold was feeling at his lowest, the universe provided him with something oh so delicious to cheer him up. Talk about silver linings

However, any feelings of elation Cold had in regards to Lisa's mystery beau were cut short when an all too familiar pint-sized scientist poked his head out from the passenger seat window of the garish yellow Taxi and tossed Cold and Lisa a lop-sided grin that made Cold's blood turn to ice.

No.

No No No No No.

This couldn't be happening.

But it was.

Oh dear god, his sister was dating Cisco Ramon.

"_Uh... hey. Bad time?"_ Cisco asked as he emerged from the Taxi, his body language tense and awkward looking as he forced himself to inch closer and closer towards the Snart siblings standing a few feet in front of him.

Cold wasn't planning on committing a murder today, but it looks as though he may have to make an exception.

* * *

Upstairs and back inside the actual apartment, Mark opened the door and stepped in to the comfort of his new-found home with a tired sounding sigh. Currently sat inside the living area of the apartment, Axel looked up from his spot on the long seater couch and flashed his boyfriend a warm, inviting smirk.

"_Hey Handsome. How's it going?" _Axel asked, adjusting himself up into a proper sitting position on the couch as Mark approached.

"_Not gonna lie, I've been better. How're you babe?"_ Mark asked as he threw himself down next to Axel, his arm instinctively wrapping around Axel's shoulder and pulling him into his body as Mark made himself comfortable on the couch.

"_Well I've just finished watching an 'Amazing World of Gumball' marathon, so pretty good yeah. Side note, we are NEVER getting a turtle. Seems those things feed on misery, as well as iceberg lettuce."_ Axel said with a shiver as he made himself quite comfortable in Mark's arms.

"_I'll keep that in mind. Where's Rathaway?"_ Mark whispered, his head falling back on to the back of the couch with a near;y silent thud.

"_Out. He left when I told him that Lisa had invited Cisco over again. They still ain't on speaking terms apparently."_ Axel sneered.

While Mark let his eyes slip shut, Axel's remained wide open and staring up towards the ceiling with a content smirk on his face, although regardless of how he was feeling right now he could tell that Mark wasn't anywhere near as relaxed as he was.

Considering how things with Julie and Josh were going, Axel couldn't say he blamed Mark, in fact in his opinion Mark was holding up much better than most others would.

"_Right. You know I hate to break up lovely moments like this one but I really need to know, what's happened?"_ Axel said, untangling himself from Mark's limbs as he pushed himself up and back on to his own spot on the couch.

"_Jeez, Is it that obvious?"_ Mark asked timidly, his head still tilted backward and facing the ceiling as he spoke.

"_Subtlety was never your strong point, Mister 'Lets attack the CCPD in broad daylight'. So c'mon, spill." _Axel said, the smile on his face successfully masking the dread he felt building up inside of him. If he couldn't be the brave one in this situation, then no one could.

"_Julie called me. She's gotten worse. Its just... it's that... Ugh, Honestly, I... I really don't wanna talk about it, but there's another problem, besides y'know... that."_ Mark eventually admitted.

"_What? What is it Mark? You know you can tell me anything." _Axel said as he reached over across the couch and linked hands with Mark. _"Now c'mon. Tell me what's wrong."_

"_With her time left here being as short as it is, Julie's started getting her house in order, so to speak... and... well... she wants us to take care of Josh when she's gone. Like, full time." _Mark said hesitantly, finally turning his head towards Axel to gauge the other males reaction. Much to Mark's relief, Axel looked beside himself at the news.

"_Really? She really wants us to look after Josh? Mark tha-tha's great!"_ Axel just about cheered as he launched himself over across the couch and back into Mark's arms. _"I mean, everything that's happening with Julie certainly isn't great, but the fact she trusts us enough to care for your son? That's incredible!" _

"_Oh man. That's such a relief to hear you say that. I love you." _Mark said with a relived sigh, ignoring the unintentionally crass tone to Axel's precious statement.

"_What? Did you really think I wouldn't be happy about this?" _Axel said, his tone hushed and almost hurt sounding.

"_Oh no. I knew you'd be for it, but it's still nice to hear it from the horses mouth. Honestly that wasn't what was concerning me." _Mark said._ "The problem is Lenny"_

"_Lenny? What so you mea - oh..." _Axel started before stalling when the problem hit him slap bang right in the face. While both Mark and Axel were willing and able to look after Mark's son, the fact of the matter was that without an actual home to provide the boy with, when it came to custody and all that nonsense then they were shit out of luck. Unfortunately for them, their chances of being able to look after Josh were in someone else's hands. Lenny's hands, to be specific.

Neither of them thought Lenny was a particularly unreasonable individual, in fact after their venture to see Black Mask in Gotham just a few weeks ago Mark and Len had become rather close, but somehow neither of them thought for one second that when it came to asking if they could welcome a child into their already packed little apartment that Lenny would be down for that.

With Len, Mick, Lisa, Mark, Axel and now Hartley all calling this apartment 'home', the place was already fit to burst. Asking Len if they could add yet another person into the mix might be pushing their luck, even if this extra head was that of a child.

"_Hmm. I see what you mean about Len." _Axel said with a pout. _"What do you think we can do?"_

"_I honestly don't know, but we'll think of something. We've got to." _Mark concluded with a nod, while next to him Axel sat silently. Mark's determination to fight for his child was admirable (and a little hot if Axel were being honest), but Axel didn't want to admit that he himself wasn't too confident that Lenny would let them take Josh in.

Before Axel's impulsiveness forced him to speak out about his concerns, the doors to the apartment flew wide open and Lisa marched into the apartment, dragging an anxious looking Cisco in not far behind her.

"_For Christ sake Cisco, I told you to circle the block!"_ Lisa snapped. _"Of all the things I needed today, Len finding out about us wasn't one of them."_

"_I already told you, I've get no signal when I'm over here! I can't help it if my phone's being shitty." _Cisco pleaded with his irate lover as he just let himself be dragged into the apartment.

"_Hey Cisco"_ Axel interrupted with a smirk.

"_Ha! You look a little shell-shocked Cisco. I take it Len knows everything now, eh?"_ Mark asked, failing to hide the smirk on his face.

"_Afraid so."_ Lisa answered for her still in shock boyfriend. _"Apparently someone can't read a text message properly and came over anyway."_

"_Honestly, he was going to find out sooner or later." _Mark cut in. _"Better late than never I suppose. You've already been keeping this a secret for months now. Len was bound to notice you sneaking him in and out of here eventually Lisa. Truthfully I'm surprised he hasn't noticed already."_

"_See when you say it like that it almost makes it sound like we were lucky to bump into him just now." _Cisco managed to say, his voice jittery and hands fidgeting around with the sleeves on his hoodie as he spoke. _"Which y'know, is not the case. I swear I heard the Kill-Bill Siren playing in the distance when he glared at me like that."_

"_That bad huh?" _Axel said in as understanding a voice as he could manage as he rose from his space on the couch and begun heading through the apartment and towards the kitchen area.

"_Worse I'd say. He didn't say anything, he just patted me on the shoulder and walked away. Len then just walked straight past Cisco and on into Cisco's cab before just driving off."_ Lisa said, bewilderment apparent in her tone as she explained.

"_Honestly I'd have preferred if he'd have just screamed at us or something. That look in his eye when he walked past me was brutal. It was like he was Annie Wilkes and I was Paul Sheldon. My ankles instinctively felt sore man. Honestly."_ Cisco said with an over-dramatic shiver as he sat down on the couch right next to Mark, who in turn adjusted his position on the couch so he was sitting up straight. Just in time too, as from out the corner of his eye he spotted Lisa head on over towards the couch too with an equally anxious look on her face.

Somehow Mark didn't think tonight would be the right night to ask Len about the whole 'Josh' situation after all.

* * *

With a polite 'Thank You' and a forced yet still friendly smile, Cold passed a $20 note through to the Taxi driver as he opened the door and stepped out onto the Entrance to The Pier. As he stood in complete silence letting the sea air fill his lungs, Cold could hear his heart beating like a drum in his ears, blocking out the sounds of everything around him and forcing him to face the problem at hand with no distractions. Within the next twenty minutes, things between himself and Mick would be altered forever, either for the better or for the worse. Whatever was going to happen would make sure things would never be the same again, and the thought genuinely terrified Cold. Truthfully, he hadn't been this nervous in his entire life.

Thrusting his hands into the pockets of his parka, Cold sighed deeply to himself as he begun making his way through the Entrance and onto the Pier. Cold was so deep in thought that apparently he had failed to hear the gates closing and then locking behind him as he made his way along the solid hardwood board-walk and towards the Ferris-Wheel situated at the very end.

For the briefest moment, Cold did question to himself as to why the Pier seemed to be completely devoid of any other living being besides himself of course, but with his mind going a million miles an hour running through each and every possible outcome that lay ahead when he finally came face to face with Mick it shouldn't come as a surprise that Cold never thought too much about it.

Within a few moments, Cold found himself standing before the Ferris-Wheel at the end of the Pier. With an anxious sigh, Cold looked to his left and then to his right and saw no sign of anyone whatsoever, never mind Mick. If he'd spent the last forty five minutes of his life only just managing to fight off a massive stress-related heart attack only to find Mick had bailed on him at the last minute then Cold's revenge would be the stuff of legends.

Just as Cold begun plotting the various ways he could maim Mick if the other had indeed stood him up, in the corner of his eyes he caught sight of a blood-red balloon with a stark white arrow pointing to the Left bobbing back and forward effortlessly in the pleasant sea breeze. Let it never be said that Cold was a particularly difficult individual, but right about now this wild goose chase was beginning to seem just a little ridiculous.

Narrowing his eyes and staring down daggers across the Board-walk and towards the makeshift sign, Cold started forward towards the balloon with his hands still jammed into his pockets, feeling more and more ridiculous the longer this silly charade went on. It was at that point he noticed what the balloon was pointing towards, namely another identical balloon with yet another arrow pointing towards another balloon, which in turn was pointing towards the Dance Hall situated just behind the looming Ferris-Wheel towering oppressively overhead. From what Cold could see from where he was standing, the doors to the Dance Hall were slightly ajar.

"_Good Old Mick, always so subtle."_

Slipping his phone free from his pocket, Cold glanced down towards the little screen and winkled his nose at the time. 19:43pm. Jesus, was it really that late already? Shaking his head and slipping his phone back into its spot at the bottom of his pocket, Cold found himself stood in front of the doors into the Dance Hall and felt frozen on the spot.

Any anger that had been flowing through his veins just moments ago had been washed away effortlessly by the all-consuming feelings of anxiety that had made themselves at home in Cold's system over the last hour.

Sucking in and then forcing out an uneasy sounding breath, Cold tensed his shoulders and without another moments hesitation he forced himself through the opened doors into the cafe and found himself plunged into a thick, seemingly impenetrable darkness. Almost at the exact same moment he actually entered the Dance Hall, Cold acknowledged the doors shutting and then locking themselves behind him.

"_Hello Len." _Micks voice came timidly from somewhere in the darkness almost the moment the doors were actually closed.

"_Hello Mick. I got your messages and... well, here I am." _Cold said, doing his best to sound more 'Captain Cold' than 'Len Snart' in that moment, but failing miserably.

"_So I see. Come on in."_ Mick said as a horrendously bright yellow spotlight turned itself on up ahead and shone down furiously onto the dead centre of the room, or more specifically a single fold-out chair sat right in the centre of the bright beam. _"You might want to take a seat Len, I've got a lot to say to you."_

"_Someone's feeling a little dramatic tonight aren't we?. I've got to say, it's kind of doing it for me." _Cold snickered as he followed instructions, cringing to himself at his pathetic display of confident as he stepped into the spotlight and then sat himself down onto the chair.  
_"Excellent. Thank you Len. Now we can finally begin." _Mick said.

At that moment, the shutters along the windows at the back of the Hall begun to scrape and whirl as they started to open up, the room quickly flooding with the warm glows of the setting sun and vanquishing the darkness sinisterly hanging around in the corners of the room. As the room continued to get brighter and brighter though, Cold would soon find himself wishing that it hadn't.

Sitting directly across from him against the windows was Mick himself, his face badly beaten and bruised and tied to his own little fold-out chair. His vision was still hazy thanks to still having not quite adjusted to the light, but from what Cold could see Mick's chair was sat inside what looked like a standard-fare Carnival dunking tank, except this one had various thick wires popped into the water and then attached to powerful looking generators at the other end. From what Cold could see, the machine's hadn't been turned on and Mick wasn't in any immediate danger, but that could soon change.

Sat inside the deathtrap looking much more calm than to be expected, Mick looked forward towards Cold with an exhausted look written all over his badly battered face.

"_Len, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to text you, but he made me do it..." _Mick forced out, his voice low and barely audible as he spoke.

"_Mick, don't move! I'm coming to get you!" _Cold shouted as he lurched forward onto his feet and begun caring over towards the tank, before a single mind-blowing gunshot was fired from somewhere in the room, the bullet screeching across the room and finding its home just an inch of so away from Cold's feet, bring the charging Rogue to a complete and sudden halt.

"_HERE AT THE CENTRAL CITY PIER, WE ASK THAT ALL PATRONS PLEASE KEEP THEIR HANDS AND FEET INSIDE THE VEHICLE AND REMAIN SEATED AT ALL TIMES. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING, AND ENJOY THE RIDE" _A cold robotic voice boomed over the P.A system inside the Hall as Cold cursed under his breath, his hands balling into unimaginably tight fists as he literally forced himself backwards into his spotlight and down onto his chair.

"_Good evening Gentlemen and... well, Gentlemen and welcome to our brand spanking new pre-theatre special!"_ Echoed an all too familiar voice from somewhere in the room, Cold's eye's shooting wide open and an unstoppable shiver slithering up Cold's spine like it always did whenever he was unfortunate enough to hear this psychopaths insidious tones.

"_I ask that you all just sit back, relax and enjoy the special performance we have cooked up for you on this fine Friday evening. I'm sure you're all going to just love it! It's a little show we here at the Central City like to call..." _Announced none other than The Joker himself as he stepped out from behind the water-tank Mick was stuck in and glowered over towards Cold with nothing but an all consuming psychotic fury burning behind his emerald hues.

"_Revenge!"_


	15. The One With The Happy Ending

Oh god.

This couldn't be happening. It absolutely positively could not be happening, and yet it was. Cold had known from the second he had woken up from his seemingly endless slumber that The Joker wouldn't be dead. The clown had survived being shot, blown up, you name it. It seemed as though the man were truly invincible, so Cold wasn't foolish enough to think for a second that a plane crash would be enough to finish him off.

Truthfully, Cold's relief at actually surviving the situation himself had given him a false hope that whatever had happened between The Rogues and The Joker back in Gotham City wouldn't seem important enough to for the Clown to waste his time on. Cold would admit that was definitely foolish.

But why did he have to come to Central City seeking his gory revenge today? It had taken Cold almost eighteen years to finally come to the realisation that he was in love with Mick, and now some psychotic clown with a grudge was about to snatch whatever life they could have had away from them before they'd even had the chance to really consider it. Considering how his life had become since allowing the rest of the Rogues to move into his apartment, something like this happening to him was just typical. Cold made a mental note that he had to stop being so damn hospitable to them.

"_Before we get started with tonight's performance, I'd like to thank each and every single one of you for choosing to spend your hard earned money on one of my little productions. I know you're all spoiled for choice when it comes to Friday Night Entertainment here in Central City, so the fact you chose to be here this fine evening really does mean the world to me!" _The Joker cackled maniacally, spinning around on the spot with his hands in the air as his infamous laughter echoed around the empty Hall like thunder and ripped through Cold's entire body like a rusty serrated blade.

For the briefest of moments, Cold seriously considered just launching himself up out of the chair and at The Joker while he seemed to be momentarily distracted, but the horrendous scar running up the right hand side of his stomach was a successful reminder that going head-to-head with The Joker wasn't in anyone's best interests, especially Mick's. If he wanted to get both himself and Mick out of this nightmare relatively unscathed then he'd have to play it smart. Easier said than done when faced with the problems that the most infamous super-villain of all time brought to the table.

"_Pleasantries aside, we are still waiting on another guest..." _The Joker's voice trailed off as he turned his attention towards the children's 'Batman' watch strapped to his wrist, staring daggers down towards the tiny clock-face as the seconds continued to trickle past.

Another guest? And here Cold thought it was just himself and Mick that were unfortunate enough to find themselves in The Joker's company this fine summers evening. Just who the hell else had the clown roped into this nightmare?

"_Oh well. I can't exactly keep the rest of my guest waiting on one rude little 'Tardy Thomas' now can I? I'll just have to deal with that little twerp later... Anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW!"" _The Joker announced as a small remote control slipped free from the sleeve of his suit and into his hand. Cackling away to himself as he raised it high into the air, the Joker slammed his index finger down hard onto a small green button on the tip of the device. Ready or not, the show was about to begin.

Almost like clockwork, behind The Joker a row of alarmingly bright florescent lights turned on and begun waving around the room recklessly, streamers popped from somewhere above and flitted down towards the floor with whimsy and some obnoxiously loud, probably trademarked theme music from some 80's Game-show begun booming away around the hall, the windows along the back of the hall shaking at the beat pounded around the four walls.

More alarmingly however was that as the room sprung to life, as did the wires inside Mick's tank, an unimaginably strong electrical current now tearing through the water as Mick dangled precariously above.

"_Alright Gentlemen, let's get this show on the road! As I mentioned earlier, The game tonight is called "Revenge". It's a game in which I ask the contestant, namely you Cappy, a series of questions. For each question you get right, I'll turn off one of the five fail-safe switches keeping your bone-headed beau in danger. But, for every question you get wrong, I'll lower the chair an inch or two towards the water. Get too many of my questions wrong, and ZAP! Old Heatwave'll be toast, quiet literally." _The Joker snickered, leaning back against the glass tank with a smug smirk on his pasty white features while inside the tank Mick's eyes had suddenly sprung wide open in pure panic.

"_Len! LEN! Get me the fuck out of this thing!"_ Mick voice boomed from within the tank while Cold could only clamp his eyes shut in response. Seeing Mick as panicked as he was wouldn't do anything to help Cold keep his cool, no pun intended. Above all else, he had to remain calm and in control if he wanted to get the upper hand on The Joker. Why did Mick have to be making it so hard?

"_Enough chit-chat, Lets get this show on the road already! Question One, Who is the absolute worse super-villain on the face of the earth?"_ The Joker said, staring directly at Cold out of the corner of his beady eyes.

"_Uhh..." _Cold's mind had went completely blank. Try as he might he just couldn't seem to focus properly with everything going on around him, although he was willing to bet that was exactly what The Joker had in mind when he'd set this little play-date up. _"Captain Cold?"_

With a pained sounding sigh of sheer disappointment, The Joker clicked down on the red button in the centre of the remote. Not a second later, the platform Mick's chair was seated on clicked and whirled as it slowly lowered a few inches down into the tank and closer to the water. The wail of pure dread that escaped Mick's lips as he drew nearer and nearer to his imminent doom physically pained Cold. It was killing him to see Mick like this, but it would be killing The Joker even more the second that Cold got his hands on him.

"_Oh! Bad show Cappy. I'm afraid to say that the correct answer was The Riddler. And here I thought that was an obvious one. Your boyfriend ain't too bright, is he hot-head?"_ The Joker cackled, nudging the glass tank with his elbow and winking playfully at the still wildly panicked Mick, who spat against the glass in response.

"_Classy... Anyway, moving on. Question 2! What beauty product does Lex Luthor use to keep his shiny, shiny chrome-dome as shiny as it is?"_ The Joker asked.

"_Uh... fuck-fuck-fuck!...Uh..." _Cold begun stumbling over his words, the sight of Mick's unbridled panic and The Joker's penetrating gaze completely throwing him off his line of thought. If he didn't get his emotions under control then there was no way either of them were leaving here in one piece. _"Uhh... Turtle Wax?"_

"_DING-DING-DING-DING-DING! Correctamundo Cappy!" _The Joker cheered as, true to his word, one of the 5 wires keeping Mick's tank electrified shut down. Both Cold and Mick couldn't help but heave out a heavy sigh of relief at the sight. Finally they were getting somewhere.

"_That said, I'm really not a fan of all the cursing you've been doing so far, this is a Family show after all. Soooo I guess I'm just going to have to give you a slight penalty." _The Joker spat out, followed by a bout of terrifying laughter as he once again pressed the red button on the tiny remote, the platform keeping Mick suspended sinking down another few inches into the tank and drawing even closer to the water below.

"_LEN! FOR FUCK SAKE DO SOMETHING ALREADY!"_ Mick shouted out, his whole body taut as he stared down towards the sparking, crackling water now just a few feet below.

"_Enough of this, your dead you sic...!" _Cold barked furiously as he suddenly jumped up from his seat and onto his feet, only to be met with The Joker withdrawing a comically oversized gun from his inside-coat pocket and pointing it directly towards Cold's head within the blink of an eye, the clown's gloved finger hovering dangerously over the button on the remote while he continued to grimace over towards the pouncing rogue.

"_You even think about moving another inch and I'll sink that dead weight next to me down into the water before you can say 'yahtze!. Don't be stupid Cappy. You know fine well that I'm the one holding all the cards here. Now, would you kindly retake your seat? We've got a game to finish."_ The Joker said, his voice suddenly taking on a much more serious sounding edge to it as he glared across the room towards the still completely motionless Rogue.

Okay, so the direct approach was definitely a no-go. Thrusting his hands back into the pockets of his parka, Cold drew the dirtiest glare he could and aimed it directly at The Joker as he finally resat himself down on the chair. The Joker meanwhile did nothing but chuckle at Colds pathetic look, removing his finger from the trigger of the gun once Cold had finally returned to his seat.

With a direct confrontation definitely off the cards, Cold's original plan, namely that of stealth, would just have to do. Which is why at that point in time his hand was still lodged firmly inside his pocket, trying to unlock his phone as discretely as possible. Since he himself was completely powerless while under The Joker's ever watchful eye, then Cold would just have to look elsewhere for some backup.

"_Alrighty then, now that the crowd has safely reseated itself we can move on to question number three! Once again this one is for you Cappy. Over the last seven months, how man..."_ The Joker started, before the doors leading into the Food Hall were suddenly burst open by none other than Hartley Rathaway, a wide grin on his face as he wandered into the madness inside the hall, seemingly unaware of just what exactly he was getting himself into.

"_David? David? You in here? I got your text but, oh shit..."_ Hartley said, his face dropping and a wave of pure dread washed over his soft features as he stared directly across the room and right into the burning green eyes of the Clown Prince of Crime himself.

"_Ahh Mister Rathaway. A little later than I had hoped but come on in." _The Joker said, flicking the gun away from Len's head and towards Hartley, who instinctively raised his hands up into the air.

Seizing the opportunity Hartley's sudden arrival had presented to him with both hands, Cold begun rattling around with his phone more recklessly than before. If he didn't get someone's attention now then he might not get another chance, at least not until it was too late.

After a few moments of what seemed to be hopeless tinkering, Cold only just managed to hold back a victorious cheer as his phone vibrated in his pocket, signalling it had finally been unlocked. About fucking time.

Judging it as best he could, Len begin pressing down lightly on the touchpad, trying to open the 'Contacts'. After a few well placed taps Cold only just managed to suppress another sigh of relief as he felt the phone vibrate in his pocket, signally that it had indeed begun to call someone. God knows who though, but at the very least it was something.

As Hartley continued to inch his way closer and closer towards the centre of the room, Cold turned his head over his shoulder and tossed a somewhat reassuring nod towards the Pied Piper, who nodded back in return even if the boys fear and uncertainty was palpable. Cold had done his part in trying to get them out of here in once piece, he just hoped that whoever he had actually managed to call would do the rest for him.

* * *

Back at the apartment, the atmosphere couldn't be more different than that at the Pier's Food Hall across on the other end of town.

At that precise moment in time, the four individuals currently still in the apartment had drawn the curtains and were all huddled up on the couch watching some ridiculous looking B-Horror movie that Cisco had recommended on Netflix.

Lisa was sat at one end of the couch with Cisco sitting between her legs on the floor, shovelling handful after handful of popcorn into his mouth. In the middle of the couch sat Mark and at the end opposite Lisa sat Axel, his legs splayed out across Mark's as the four of them sat in silence, their eyes fixed firmly on the dimly lit television before them.

Just as the film was starting to get good, Axel groaned painfully as his phone started vibrating in his pocket. Sliding the phone free from the confines of his jeans, Axel squinted his eyes through the darkness and couldn't help but laugh at who was calling him. Lisa had filled them all in on what exactly was going down with Mick and Len tonight, and needless to say Axel didn't really fancy throwing himself head first in to the middle of the volatile pair's endless ngoing problems.

Chuckling silently to himself, Axel switched his phone onto 'Silent' mode and tossed it over across his shoulder and down onto the floor, the phone sliding down the hallway behind them and stopping as it collided with the back wall with a sharp knock.

"_What's so funny babe? Who was calling?" _Mark whispered, his eyes never once leaving the television as he spoke.

"_I dunno, the number didn't come up on my Caller ID, so I didn't answer it." _Axel lied, shrugging his shoulders to emphasize his point as he switched position on the couch, removing his legs from over Mark's and twisting his frame around so he was huddled into his much taller boyfriends side. _"If whoever's calling is in desperate need to speak to me, then I'm sure they'll just call back, hopefully after the movie's over. It's finally starting to get good."_

"_Shhh! You're going to miss the best part!"_ Cisco snapped from the floor, earning himself a sharp nudge in the side and a less-than-impressed glance from Lisa.

"_Sorry dude." _Axel whispered in a taunting tone as he turned his attention back towards the television.

Cold and Mick could and would just have to deal with their own problems, for once in their lives they really didn't need the rest of the Rogues giving them a helping hand.

* * *

Cold really hoped that the Rogues were already on their way to give them a helping hand, although if Cold were to say he wasn't feeling the heat right about now then he'd be a liar. Hopefully though they would arrive in the nick of time and prove him wrong.

"_Chop-Chop Mr Rathaway, we don't have all night!" _The Joker snarled towards the Piper, who continued to inch closer and closer towards the spotlight in the centre of the room, his whole body shaking as he carried on.

Still sat in his seat, Cold's mind continued to run in circles, desperately trying to come up with some way or another he could get the three of them out of the Joker's clutches before the psychopath had a chance to do anything they'd regret. That being said, in his current positions his choices were limited to 'subtle actions that won't give the clown holding the gun any reason to blow my damn head off'. It was unfortunate that as the stress levels continued to rise, being as subtle as possible was becoming the least important part of Cold's ever growing list of priorities.

This endless and self-destructive cycle of thought was eventually broken by Hartley finally arriving at his side in the spotlight. Although not looking directly on him, Cold could see that Hartley was visibly shaking as he stood facing the man who'd held him captive for all those weeks once again. Looking back on the state they'd found Hartley in back in Gotham, Cold could hardly blame him for being petrified.

"_Alright Hartley, I'm going to have to ask you empty your pockets and toss whatever goodies you have on you to the side. Can't have you spoiling all the fun now can we?"_ The Joker said as he flicked the gun to the side, motioning where exactly Hartley was meant to be disposing of any weapons.

"_I-I... Uh... I..." _Hartley begin to say, finding himself tripping over his words pathetically as he tried to find the courage to speak. Shaking his head from side to side almost violently, Hartley opted instead to just nod hesitantly in response as he dug his hands deep into his pockets and begun rifling through whatever junk he'd actually thought to bring with him.

With his clown's attention fixed solely on Hartley, Cold looked past their assailant and right towards Mick still locked inside the tank. Steadying his nerves as their eyes locked with one another's, Cold forced himself to smile warmly at his companion and mouthed "Don't worry" to him. Across from him, Mick returned a much shakier smirk and nodded, mouthing "Who's worrying?" in response. Cold couldn't help but genuinely smile at that. Good old Mick, always putting on a brave front in the face of danger, no matter how false it seemed.

"_Just what do you think your doing?"_ The Joker asked all of a sudden, snapping Cold's attention away from his captive lover and back towards The Joker, who it seemed was staring at Hartley with an unbridled fury in his eyes. Turning to look towards Hartley, Cold's mouth went lax when he saw Hartley standing facing the clown with a gun held tentatively in his hands and aimed right towards their captors head. Oh shit. Subtle was definitely out the window then.

"_D-Don't move another muscle!"_ Hartley said ferociously as he lay his index finder down lightly on the gun's trigger. _"Drop the gun and the remote and s-step away from the tank. NOW!"_

"_Well, what is it? Stay where I am or step away?"_ The Joker said, looking towards both Cold and Mick for any sign of support and finding nothing there but contempt.

"_Oh Hartley, look at you wearing your big-boy-pants, giving me orders like I'm one of your sad little friends at Chess Club." _The Joker taunted from his position next to the tank, taking a single step forward towards Hartley. "_I''ve gotta say, this new domineering attitude your showing off is kind of hot. A Major improvement from the cowering piss-baby I came to know and love back in Gotham..."_

"_I SAID DON'T MOVE!"_ Hartley roared, his arms shaking wildly as the grinning ghoul continued to inch his way over towards the pair stood inside the burning spotlight. Still sat on the seat, Cold could feel his entire body going tense as The Joker drew neared to their current position yet a smug little grin had begun to surface on his face.

Bingo.

Cold could kiss Hartley he was so happy. This was his chance to finally get things under control. With The Joker's attention now fixed completely on Hartley, Cold had finally been presented with the perfect opportunity to strike The Joker down once and for all. All he needed was for Hartley to keep his cool for the next few seconds and then he could take matters into his own hands. All he needed was for the Clown to get just a little bit closer before he could actually do anything. Here was hoping Hartley was up to the challenge.

"_Cut the schtick already kid. We all know you're not a killer... Well, that is unless the person you're out to kill is the Dirty old man who's been screwing you, who just turns out to be a psychotic time-traveller hell-bent on ruining the lives of everyone around him, right?"_ The Joker spat venomously as he followed orders, dropping his own firearm and the remote down onto the floor of the Hall as he continued to step closer towards the two somewhat incapacitated Rogues.  
_"You don't know a damn thing about me you sick fuck..."_ Hartley said quietly, although a fiery fury could be heard bubbling away just beneath the surface.

"_Oh I think I do Kiddo. Spend a day or two torturing someone and your bound to know them quite intimately. Not as intimately as Dr. Wells knew you I'd be willing to bet, but intimate none the less. I've got the pictures to prove it too..."_ The Joker said flippantly as he took a final step forward and found himself stood in the spotlight, just a few feet away from both Cold and Hartley, the grin stretching across his chalk white features bordering on painful looking as he continued to stare seemingly right past into Hartley's eye and on into his soul.

"_You don't know me. You don't know a damn thing about me. You're nothing... just a coward in a cheap purple suit. Now, get on your knees and place your hands above your head."_ Hartley said as he continued to burn holes in the Joker's head with the strength of his gaze. Cold had to admit, Hartley was keeping his cool but better than Cold had previous anticipated.

"_Deny it all you like kiddo, but I know a good guy at heart when I see him. But whatever, you don't believe me then fine..." _The Joker started as he took another step forward and placed his forehead right against the barrel of Hartley's gun, staring up past the gun and towards Hartley with a sinister and all knowing smirk on his face. _"Take your best shot tough guy."_

With The Joker now just mere inches away from him, Hartley's whole body was shaking like a leaf in the autumn breeze and Cold could swear he saw tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. Cold hated to admit it, but The Joker was right. Hartley was no killer and by the look on his face even Hartley knew that too.

Gasping out a painful sounding sob, Hartley snapped the gun away from The Joker's forehead and took a step away from the madman, his eyes still fixed on The Joker's as the clown stood back up properly and fixed the lapel of his suit, a satisfied smirk on his face as he did so.

"_Y'know what Clown?" _Hartley said, his whole body shaking as he stared The Joker with a truly defeated look consuming his entire body._"You never were all that funny..."_

Around him, Cold would swear that time had begun to slow down. To his left, Hartley's hand went limp and the pistol begun to tumble through the air and down onto the floor. Across from him, The Joker's sinister smirk shifted into a spine-chilling grimace as the glint of a butterfly blade slipping from somewhere in the arm of his coat and into his gloved hand caught Cold's eye. The scar on Cold's side almost begun to burn at the sight of that godforsaken blade. Oh no, this freak wasn't using the same old trick on him twice.

Before The Joker had the chance to even grasp the blade fully, Cold swung his foot upwards brought it up hard right into The Joker's genitals. Upon impact, The Joker's eyes flew wide open and he doubled over in pain, howling like a wounded beast as he hit the floor. Taking advantage of the clowns momentary disorientation Cold rose to his feet and swung his leg upwards again, this time connecting it with The Joker's jaw and forcing the clown back onto his behind with a painful sounding thud.

Leaping into action, Cold sprinted ahead towards Mick's tank while the Joker was incapacitated, but couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips as The Joker swiped at his ankles and sent him crashing down onto the floor with an equally painful sounding thump.

"_You inconsiderate little bastards! After all the hard work I put into tonight, this is the thanks I get?"_ The Joker cackled manically as he forced himself back up onto his feet and after Cold without a seconds hesitation. _"See this is why you never work with anyone from Central City. They just never seem to want follow the rules." _

Before the clown managed to actually catch up to Cold, The Joker squealed in shock as he was forcibly dragged backward by none other than Hartley, who had wrapped a balled fist into the Joker's wavy green hair and somehow summoned up the body strength to literally throw him back through the air and off of Cold.

"_Don't just lie there for god sake, Get Mick out of there already!" _Hartley barked furiously as he lurched forward and wrapped a hand around Cold's arm as he tried to drag him up on to his feet.

"_I agree with the twerp, get me out of here already!"_ Mick bellowed from within the tank, the anxiety almost dripping from his tone as he shouted over the sizzling crackle of the electrified water below.

Not wasting another second, Cold nodded as a quick 'Thank you' to Hartley as the pair took off running towards the tank. Behind them though and still in the spotlight, The Joker had gotten back on to his feet and was staring down the escaping Rogues with a truly terrifying look of fury on his face.

"_That's it, the gloves are coming off! I call this next trick 'The Knockdown'!" _The Joker announced with a devilish smirk as he swung both his arm across his front in an 'X' motion, a dozen razor sharp cards zipping free from within the sleeves of his jacket and rocketing through the air and after his intended victims.

Hartley, who had just happened to be facing the clown when he launched the attack, managed to throw himself down onto the floor and only just managed to duck out of the way of the weaponized cards line of fire. Cold however was not so lucky as three of the cards sliced effortlessly through his thick coat and found themselves lodged deep in his back.

Once again collapsing forward and only managing to catch himself as he dropped his weight against the water-tank, Cold wailed in pain as the blades continued to stick out from his back, his back feeling warm and sticky all of a sudden as the fresh wounds oozed blood all over his behind.

If his jacket weren't as thick as it was there was a good chance that Cold would have been a crippled by that last attack. Maybe Cold's luck was looking up after all.

Meanwhile, Hartley was back on his feet and had successfully made his way up to the tank. Picking up the Joker's dis-guarded gun in one hand and the control to Mick's tank in the other. With an anxious grunt, Hartley begun to fiddle away with the unlabelled buttons covering the device. Of course things were never simple with The Joker.

"_Oh, Poor Cappy. You've gone and fallen again. You always were clumsy."_ The Joker said as he reached into his trouser pocket and withdrew what looked to be a bag of marbles. _"But enough of this. Never thought I'd see the day where I said this, but I'm done playing. Time to bring out the big guns."_

"_Oh enough already! Not another move Joker!" _Hartley said, one hand aiming a gun at the Jokers head the other continued to fidget away with the remote control in his other hand.

"_Oh for Christ Sake Hartley, we've been over this already. At this point you're just embarrassing yourself." _The Joker moaned, rolling his eyes and placing his hands on his hips as he stared towards the group with a strange, almost amused look on his face.

"_No. No, you're right. About the killing thing anyway..."_ Harley said with a satisfied smirk as he pressed a blue button on the bottom of the tank. As he did, the platform suspending Mick over the electrified water begun to finally rise back up towards the top of the tank, dragging Mick out of the line of danger and back into some level of safety.

"_Which is Why I'm not going to kill you..." _Hartley said as without warning he lowered the gun down ever so slightly and fired a single shot, the bullet rocketing through the air and ripping through the Joker's kneecap in one smooth motion._ "But I am going to cripple you."_

With a blood curdling screech, The Joker flung both his hands down onto his destroyed kneecap and fell down onto the floor, the bag of marbles hitting the floor with a loud rattle next to his hip as the clown rocked back and forward in unrelenting agony.

Back over at the tank, The machine finally stopped whirling as Mick's chair finally rose to the very top of the tank. As a final insult after everything he'd been through already, the panel propping him up begun to tip backwards and without so much as a warning the chair tumbled backwards off the tank and crashed down onto the floor, the chair shattering under Mick's weight and freeing him all at once.

"_Shit. Really? After all that... fucking hell..."_ Mick shouted pathetically as he rolled around on the floor like an infant, feeling quite sorry for himself as his dreadful ordeal._"I really hate clowns..."_

"_Shit happens my friend." _Hartley said as he grabbed Cold's arm and propped it over his shoulder, rising to his feet and dragging Cold up with him as he did so._ "And by the way Len, you definitely owe me big time for this one."_

"_Think you might be right..." _Cold said weakly as Hartley continued to hold him upright, a small smirk gracing the feeling of dread that once seemed to be smothering the entire room begun to be replaced by a feeling of elation and triumph. They had won, the Rogues had actually one. _"At the very least, it's over now."_

As per the norm, perhaps Cold had spoken too soon.

Just as the Rogues were starting to feel good about themselves again, the sound of the Joker's maniacal laughter from over in his bloody puddle across the room snapped the Rogues attention away from their not-quite-victory and back to the matter at hand, namely killing that Clown and ending this feud once and for all.

"_Trust you idiots to start getting all lovey-dovey before the show is even over. While you may have ruined the main game, the great thing about 'Revenge'..." _The Joker said mischievously as he scooped the bag of marbles up from the puddle of blood and held them in his hand, ripped the little seal containing the marbles wide open as he spoke. _"Is that the bonus round's a killer."_

Topping off his last ditch effort with another batch of spine-chilling laughter, The Joker tossed the bag of marbles over towards the Rogues and continued cackling away uncontrollably as the marbles begun to spill out all across the Food Hall's floor.

Looking away from the marbles and then to Cold, Hartley face suddenly dropped as he grabbed Mick's wrist and begun dragging both Mick and Cold away from the tank and towards the large, shining window's overlooking the sea. Hartley hadn't had the pleasure of seeing those little things in action yet, but in his time spent under The Joker's 'care' he'd come to know exactly what those little things were and just how dangerous they could be. They had to get out of there, and fast.

"_QUICK! OUT THE WINDOW!"_ Hartley screeched as he gripped the other two males as tight as he possibly could and continued on charging towards the wide windows overlooking the setting sun.

"_Out the Window?!" _Mick asked in a bewildered tone as he kept up with Hartley, regardless of his uncertainty in the Pipers plan.

"_What do you mean out the window?!"_ Cold asked incredulously, although neither he nor Mick seemed to be putting up much resistance as Hartley dragged them towards what the younger male seemed to think of as their means of escape.

"_Just trust me okay?! I think i've earned that. Here we go guys! Jump!" _Hartley screamed in unison with both Cold and Mick as the three men jumped out the window without hesitation, their bodies firing through the surprisingly thin glass windows without any issue and begun tumbling down towards the crashing waves all those feet below

With a series of three almost rhythmic splashes, The Three Rogues hit the water below and sunk down deep into it's almost immeasurable blue. Glass shards floated around them in the water as up above, The Joker's final gambit was put into play.

With a deafening boom, the Food Hall suddenly exploded into thousands of tiny pieces, a burning orange flame consuming the entire structure almost instantly and immolating the end of the pier within the blink of an eye.

Countless massive piece of wooden, smoking debree flew through the air alongside pieces of the collapsing pier itself as the explosion decimated the entire structure. Within seconds, the flames spread and the entire pier started to buckle under its own weight, slowly beginning to start crashing down into the water after the Rogues in a flurry of flames and smoke.

No matter where you were in the city, the site of the gargantuan grey plume of thick grey ash seeping from the molten remains of the pier could be seen clogging the skyline and polluting the early evening sky with its almost oppressive heaviness. What was once the Central City Pier was no more and in its place stood nothing but the hollowed out, smoking skeleton of what once was.

* * *

Several hours later and the site where the Pier once stood was swimming with police, reporters and innumerable citizens looking to get any slice of information they could about just what had went down at the pier that had turned it from one of the busiest locations in Central City to a smoking waste protruding from the sea like a broken bone peeking out from ripped skin.

It said a lot about the City that by this point the destruction of the pier didn't raise panic amongst its citizens, merely curiosity. All things considered, after the Particle Accelerator and the more recent worm-hole, an explosion that according to early reports no one had actually perished in wasn't really all that interesting. It was as depressing as it was enlightening.

Across the city and sitting on an grassy embankment looking onto the madness and sunken debree that was once the Pier, Cold and Mick sat in relative silence as they watched the hubbub with a morbid curiosity, allowing themselves to enjoy the peace and quiet as they slowly dried off from their little dip in the sea.

Just a few feet behind them stood Hartley, who was currently walking around in circles and cursing under his breath as he desperately tried to get his phone working again, lest they be stranded here for the rest of the night. After everything they'd been through, spending the night alone with Mick and Len was the very last thing the Piper wanted to do.

"_S'pretty, isn't it?"_ Mick said eventually, his voice hushed and eyes sparkling as he looked over towards the fiery wreckage, utterly fascinated by the swirling sparks of flame and grey smoke that continued to pile out of the wreckage.

"_You could say that. I've never had much of an affinity for fire. Well, at least nothing that would rival yours anyway." _Cold replied with a smirk.

"_Ha! That'd be pretty hard to top I think. Hmm... That was a close one, eh? Can't remember the last time I genuinely thought 'This is it.' It was oddly exhilarating though, right?"_ Mick admitted, turning to look towards Cold with a relaxed smirk on his face.

"_Trust you to take joy our your life being threatened by a serial killer. It's just... it's just one of the many reason's why... I love you." _Cold said, feeling his stomach drop and the colour in his face drain as the words finally left his lips. He hadn't planned on being so abrupt and almost crass with his delivery of that one, but it just seemed to slip out.

Next to him, Mick froze completely and slowly begun to turn his head around to face his sodding wet companion. _"Wha... what did you just say Len?"_

"_I said... I said I'm in love with you Mick." _Cold said as he turned to look forward Mick, this time feeling much more confident in himself than he did just moments ago. Cold couldn't tell if that was the hope he was feeling or the adrenaline causing him to feel this way, but either way it didn't really matter. Mick's face however was blank and unreadable, which was odd for someone who constantly wore their heart on their sleeve. Cold swallowed down hard and continued to stare into Mick's deep brown eyes, finding himself getting lose in them. All things considered, he just hoped that what he had to say wasn't too little too late.

"_It's taken me a hell of a long time to get to this place, hell I only just realised how I really felt myself earlier on today after speaking to Lisa. I've treated you horribly for years, like when I screwed you over on that job all those years ago, or even during that fight at the supermarket just a few months ago. It's just... ah fuck, I'm no good at this." _Cold admitted, his cheeks feeling red hot as he bore his soul to the other man. He'd never felt so vulnerable in his damn life. It was a new sensation, and once Cold never wanted to feel again for as long as he lived.

"_Truthfully, I've got no excuse for how I've behaved over the years, nor will I try to make one. You deserve better than that. It's a vicious cycle I need to get out of, but that's not what I'm trying to talk about. It's jus... I... uh... I lov..." _Cold continued on before Mick pounced up off of his spot on the grass next to him and tackled Cold down onto the ground, showering the bewildered parka-wearing male in a hail of warm, passionate kisses. At first every natural instinct in Cold's body told him to push the heavy weight off of him, but for the first time in what felt like forever Cold threw caution to the wind and allowed his body to melt into Mick's burning yet comforting touch.

Eventually pausing their impromptu make out session to come up for air, Cold tilted his head back against the grass underneath him and laughed heartily while Mick simply allowed his head to rest down against Cold's shoulder, breathing heavily and grinning away to himself like the cat that got the cream as he lay in the other's arms.

"_God dammit Len, you've got no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that."_ Mick admitted, still grinning from ear to ear as he nuzzled into the other mans neck.

"_If I knew this was the reaction I was going to get, I'd have said it sooner."_ Cold replied in a sultry sounding tone as he turned his head over and kissed Mick's neck. Mick couldn't help the shiver that ricocheted through his entire body as he felt Cold's warm lips against the smooth skin of his neck.

"_Fucking hell Len, you've got no idea what you do to me."_

And with that, Mick leaned forward once again and pressed his lips against Cold's, smiling into the kiss when he felt Cold wrap his legs around his waist, pulling him deeper into their heated and passionate embrace like they weren't lying on a muddle grass knoll, covered in cuts and bruises after narrowly escaping the clutches of a mad man.

As the two continued to lie in each others arms, finally embracing each others after what seemed like an endless eternity of build up, across the knoll from them Hartley stood with a disgusted look on his face and his broken phone held tightly in his hands.

"_Ugh..."_

He said almost bitterly, although the smirk on his face betrayed his tone. Tossing his completely dead phone over the kissing couple and into the water, Hartley shoved his hands into his pockets and spun around towards the road a couple of hundred yards away.

"_Guess I'll go look for help myself then. Selfish Assholes..."_

Not paying the snarky Piper even the slightest bit of attention, Mick and Cold continued to tangle themselves up in each other's addictive embrace, the smog overhead from the explosion that almost claimed their lives becoming less clear with each passing moment and the clarity of the calming stars above shining down on the knoll, highlighting their little love nest in a calm, comfortable serenity.

Cold hated to admit it, but he could get used to this whole 'Love' thing.


	16. The One That's An Epilogue

"_Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen to Part 3 of the 'Dave Endochrine Show"! I'm very excited to introduce to you our next guest. She's the newly appointed mayor of Central City and she's here tonight to answer your question, please welcome Mayor Rosalind Dillon!"_

The studio audience sat in the rafters exploded with an almost deafening applause as Mayor Dillon walked out from the side of the stage, smiling widely and waving towards the audience as she approached the chairs sat in the centre of the stage. Standing tall wearing a blood red suit with her hair tied back in a tight, neat looking bun, Dillon turned her attention away from the audience and towards the Host as she delicately took a seat in the centre of the stage.

"_Mayor Dillon, it's a pleasure to have you on my little show." _Encochrine said with a toothy grin as he extended his hand out to shake the Mayor's. Mayor Dillon chuckled aloud and shook her head in response.

"_Well thanks for having me David, It's a pleasure to be here." _Dillon responded, nodding her head and grinning from ear to ear as the camera zoomed in on her perfect, unblemished skin.

"_You've had quite a busy week haven't you? Care to give us some details."_ Encochrine asked, fixing the notes on his desk, giving Dillon some time to get the ball rolling.

"_Of course. This weeks marks the beginning of the re-construction of the Central City Pier after it was lost a few months ago. You know, I went there all the time as a child with my Father and Brother, so seeing it destroyed was absolutely heartbreaking. I swore if I ever got into office, the first thing I'd do was see to it that the Pier was rebuilt, not just for my sake, but for the City's too. That place always seemed so special to me, it was heartbreaking to see it destroyed because of some pathetic feud between warring psychopaths. It meant so much to so many people, it was really the lest I could do." _

At that, the studio audience once again begun clapping and cheering at the woman's words. Dillion herself seemed bashful, her cheeks flushing the lightest shade of red and an uneasy smile dawning on her face as the crowd continued to lavish unparalleled support on their new leader.

"_Admirable. Beautiful. Well spoken. Can this woman do no wrong Ladies and Gentlemen?"_ Encochrine asked the still ecstatic audience, who's cheering and applauding honestly didn't seem as though it could get any louder. Mayor Dillon clearly had the entire City wrapped around her pinky, that much was for sure.

.

Before the unbearably annoying host had a chance to spew any more garbage and propaganda, Cold mumbled something to himself and turned the Television off.

"_Load'a garbage..." _Cold muttered as he toss the remote down onto the empty seats of the couch next to him. Oh well, guess he better get back on with helping everyone else.

Around him, the entire apartment seemed alive, buzzing with infectious excitement and oddly enough, a strange sense of dread. Those two opposing atmosphere's mixed together may seem confusing to those who hadn't lived like they had for the last 11 months, but then again, since when did a house full of super-villains just feel pleasant and calm? That was boring and ordinary, something their living arrangement's were almost certainly not.

There was no other way of looking at it, Today was the day. Crunch time. No turning back now and all that crap. Cold had to admit, he was oddly excited.

After what had seemed like an eternity, little Josh Jackham was finally about to move in and live with them permanently. While Julie had made a somewhat miraculous recovery from the cancer that seemed adamant to destroy her body, she was currently housed up in an 'Assisted Living' centre just across town. She would live, but it would take her a hell of a long time (if at all) to get well enough to look after herself, never mind her three year old son.

That of course left the question of what was going to happen to little Josh.

Cold would admit, when Mark had first asked him about Josh moving in, Cold was more than a little hesitant. While he was sure Mark thought it was a wonderful idea, Cold failed to see just what exactly a house full of ex-cons and felons could hope to bring to the life of a young child, besides some funny stories to tell their therapist in thirty years. It should go without saying that when Cold had responded with something to that effect that Mark was none too happy.

A few weeks had past and nothing was said on the matter, life had went back to normal and Cold had naturally assumed that was the end of it. That was foolish on his behalf. Not too long after he had dropped his guard,Mick, Lisa, Hartley, Axel and even Cisco had all just suddenly decided that begging Cold furiously day and night was the best way to get the man to buckle under pressure and relent on his strict 'No Kids in the Apartment' viewpoint.

Unfortunately for Cold, they were right.

Cut to four weeks later, namely now, and everyone in the apartment seemed to be buzzing around getting every little single thing ready for the boys imminent arrival. According to Child Services, Josh would be getting dropped off at around 9pm. According to Cold's watch, it was 8:48pm. Not long now.

Thankfully by the looks of things, everyone had almost everything wrapped up and ready to go.

In the corner of the living area, Hartley was going across all the surfaces he could find with a large feather duster while patting down the couches and the cushions as he went, a set of dark headphones slipped over his ears, keeping himself to himself as he carried on with the tidying.

Upstairs, Axel was hovering around in the air, using his hover-boots to get up into the corners of the roof to wipe away any spider webs or signs of other such beasties that might upset the kid. Cold normally objected to Axel using his inventions in the house, but with everything being so unusually calm around the house this evening Cold chose to bite his tongue this time around, knowing he'd have the chance to pull Axel up for something sooner or later.

Mick was in the kitchen, whistling a jaunty tune to himself while he tended to whatever the hell that thing he had in the oven was. When they were handing out their duties for the day earlier this morning, Mick had practically gotten down on his knees to beg for the right to make dinner for the kid. No one was bothered enough to actually go against him, so with a wide smirk Mick had set about making... something for Josh's arrival.

Unsurprisingly, whatever was cooking smelled burnt. Looks as though they would definitely be ordering Pizza before the night was through. Cold couldn't help but smile fondly as the jarring smell of overcooked meat swirled around in his nostrils, looking at Mick with a content smile on his face as he shook his head. This was the man whom loved, and Cold couldn't be happier.

Stepping out of the spare bedroom directly across from Mark and Axel's own room, Lisa threw her hands up into the air and spun around in a circle, announcing something about Josh's room finally being ready for his first night in the apartment. By the look of the tiny blue splotches on her jeans, Cold assumed she had been painting for some odd reason. Cold was sure that she'd just been asked to give it a quick once over with the vaccum, no one had expected her to go in there and paint the walls for goodness sake. But then again, that summed up Lisa to a 'T', always going above and beyond to help those she loved.

Directly in front of him Cisco hummed away to himself while he vacuumed the dirty mat sitting between Cold and the now powerless television, apparently unaware that Cold's eyes were trained on him as he went.

While the boy wasn't exactly living with them (not yet anyway) when he'd heard the news that Josh was indeed coming to stay permanently he'd jumped at the chance to come over and help get everything looking spotless for the kid's arrival.

Sometimes Cold still wasn't sure what to make of Cisco. He was flighty, awkward and considering he was a certified genius he tended to come across as a tad dim at times.

To be fair, outside of Cisco's obvious adoration for his sister, Cold really knew very little about Cisco. But, stuff like this just went to show he had a good heart underneath it all. Cold wouldn't admit to it, but Lisa needed, neigh deserved, someone like that in her life.

Finally, Mark stood in front of the door in and out of the apartment with a worried look on his face, his hands balled together and body taut and nervous as he continued to try and burn holes in the door with the intensity of his gaze. Okay, someone was clearly a little stressed out.

"_How you feeling?"_ Cold asked, stepping around the couch and standing next his weather-controlling friend with a smirk on his face.

"_Like I'm about to have a heart-attack." _Mark admitted hurriedly, almost spitting the words out as he snapped his head around to look at Cold._ "I know everything is looking great and all that, but I can't help but feel anxious Len. This right here, this is gonna be a game changer..."_

Cold paused for a second and looked away from Mark and towards the door. Mark, as usual, was right.

If he were to be completely honest, Cold didn't know if the house and all those living in it were ready for the responsibilities a child would bring into their lives.

After some hefty (and desperate) convincing, Cold had finally begun to see the positives bringing Josh into their little fold would bring. There were six of them living there permanently, and Cisco was coming over more and more often as time went on, so Josh would always have someone there to look out for him. They all knew how to clean, cook, wash, iron, sew etc, so it wasn't as if they were going into this situation completely blind. So at least on that front, they were prepared.

Perhaps most important of all though, they were all in this together.

Together, they formed a tight knit family unit that could only run if they stuck it out as a team. Much like a clock, if one of the gears stopped working then the entire thing would fail to run and as a result would become useless. And while bar Mark none of them had much experience in the way of child-care, what couldn't they do if they had each other?

Smiling to himself as he turned his attention away from the door and back towards Mark, Cold raised a hand and placed it down on the taller male's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he looked into Mark's eyes with a pleased smirk on his face.

"_Mark, relax already. We're in this together, all six of us... plus Cisco too... apparently"_ Cold said as Mark choked out a hoarse sounding laugh in response.

"_We're going to get through this. 'Cause you know what Mark? This isn't about us anymore. It's about him."_ Cold said confidently as he nodded his head towards the door.

"_I... uh... Thanks Len. I actually feel a little better now."_ Mark said, a soft smile forming on his sharp features as from behind the door, a sharp rattling knock suddenly sprang free and echoed around the apartment. _"Scratch that, feeling's bad."_

Mark instantly froze on the spot and turned to look at Cold, who in turn looked towards Mark with a calming smirk on his face and once again gestured towards the door.

"_Go on big guy, he's waiting." _Cold said confidently. Feeling reassured once more, Mark nodded and straightened his back, slowly beginning to head towards the door with a noticeable spring in his step.

Over the last year, the Rogues had been through a lot. They'd started a brawl in a movie theatre, they'd almost killed themselves cart racing in a busy parking lot, they'd went toe-to-toe with some of the most dangerous men known to mankind and hell, they'd even faced the most terrifying and all consuming battle anyone could face in their entire life, falling in love. After all of that, caring for one of the sweetest kids on the planet would be a walk in the park.

As Mark finally made it to the door and slowly begun to twist the handle, the apartment suddenly got so eerily quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone had dropped whatever it was they were doing and had begun staring at the now slowly opening door, anxiously awaiting the little bundle of joy to enter their home and their lives to.

Stood in the same spot as before, Cold placed his hands into his pockets and smiled to himself as the feeling of strange warmth spreading through his chest begin to almost glow beneath his tight black jumper. Turning to look towards Mick, Cold was almost knocked back as the warmth begun to glow within him even brighter, filling his body up with an odd feeling of comfort that the man hadn't felt in what seemed like an eternity.

They were all in this together, and honestly, Cold couldn't be happier.


End file.
